I was very annoyed. I had spent almost an hour with Doctor Diaz as she ran various tests and I was starting to get weary of being poked, prodded, and questioned. I couldn’t even get properly undressed like I usually did for more than a brief exam since I needed to keep my panties (and the pad inside) on due to my heavy flow. The need to just get rid of the annoying clothes and go naked was scratching insistently at the back of my mind along with my fears that this could be something terrible, and Cinder was afraid and uncertain because I was.

It didn’t help that Isabella was trying to be all professional and impassive the whole time so I wouldn’t worry. News flash, it was not helping. Now, I was sitting here completely clothed again and suffering the intermittent cramps from hell after Carmen’s mother gave me some privacy to dress while she looked over my earlier tests.

The Midol that she had me take seemed to help with some of the symptoms that I had. I hadn’t thought much of the bloating beforehand, much less thought might be related to my period, I just thought that it and the growing cramps were due to something I ate that disagreed with me. Unfortunately, the Midol wasn’t putting a dent in the pain from the cramps, and we couldn’t give me anything stronger because most of the more potent painkillers were not safe for Fey use.

After the hospital overdose blunder that had killed Dad, I was leery of taking anything stronger than aspirin without Dr. Diaz’s direct approval, especially now that I had Manifested and become Fey myself. Nymphs, and most other Fey cousin species, had the same negative reactions to certain varieties of drugs that had killed my father, when being shot, thrown out a thirteen-story window, and then hit by a bus hadn’t finished him off. Call me paranoid, but I now intended to stay as far away from human drugs, doctors, or hospitals as I could after what happened to Dad.

The door to the clinic opened and Dr. Diaz stepped inside. I made a concentrated effort not to look as bothered as I felt as I joked, “You know, Doc, as much as I enjoy our quality time together, maybe we should see other people?”

She cracked a smile and we both knew that I was only half joking. My sister and I had only come to live with Mom above Pandora’s Box two weeks ago and in that time, this would be my fourth visit to the good doctor in her professional capacity. One was for my newly (and accidentally) created Astrae daughter and the rest were all for me.

That wasn’t even counting my short time in a coma following my bonding with Cinder or when she looked me and Melody over following our disastrous first date. So, technically that was six times in two weeks, which was just a teensy bit excessive and said a lot about how chaotic my life had become since I Manifested. If this was going to become a regular thing, I might need to start rethinking my life choices.

“I would be more than happy to see you less in my professional capacity, Crystal,” Dr. Diaz agreed, though her poker face did not slip even an iota. “I’m almost entirely certain that I know what’s going on with you though, so what would you like to hear first? The good news, or the bad news?”

I couldn’t take this damn suspense for one minute longer, so I swallowed the lump of anxiety that had balled up in my throat and said, “Just give it to me straight, please.”

Isabella nodded, her poker face finally slipping off as she gave me a sympathetic smile. “There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with you, Crystal, so please relax. When you bonded with Cinder, there were a lot of minor physiological changes made to optimize your body for hosting her, such as your elevated metabolism, higher core body temperature, and a score of other changes too small to mention. This heavy menstrual cycle that you’re experiencing is either one of those changes or a result of your altered body chemistry.”

I almost melted in relief that I wasn’t going to die or anything, though that relief was tempered in the wake of another horrendous cramp. “So, this is… normal?” I hissed through the pain.

“Well, we’re Paranormals, Crystal, textbook normal isn’t exactly in our wheelhouse. Normal for you, yes, and probably for any other women hosting a Salamander. So, you won’t be alone in this, Carmen will probably suffer this too. Sorcha as well, once she hits puberty. Maybe not Melody since she’s half-Demon, and Demon biology is generally weird to begin with, especially when you factor in their regeneration,” the doctor said. Then she added with a stern mother look, “Maybe this will serve as a regular reminder for you and Carmen to think before acting in the future. If a particularly rough period every month is the worst that you got from bonding with a largely unknown species, then you should consider yourselves lucky.”

“Lecture duly received,” I mumbled as I tried, and failed, to sink into the examination table that I was sitting on. And what a wonderful lecture it was. Very effective use of the guilt trip, I give it a nine out of ten.

“Good, I’ll let you be the one to inform my daughter of the consequences of your actions, it will mean more coming from her suffering peer than her mother,” she replied with an uncharacteristically savage smile.

“That’s cold, Doc. Should I tell her now, by the Salamander psychic network, or wait until it will be more horrifying for her?” I responded sarcastically.

“You brought this upon yourselves by acting without thinking of consequences,” she countered. Then, the savage grin faded to a sympathetic look as she prodded, “Now, if you would be so kind, Crystal. Please call her in here as well, so I can tell you both what I think you can expect from this. You can warn Melody about the possibility, but the odds are likely that she won’t have the same issues due to her demonic biology.”

With a suffering sigh, I reached out mentally for the mind I recognized as Carmen’s, even as I tried to soothe Cinder’s worries for me. ~Knock knock.~

A jumble of worry and fear hit my mind as Carmen immediately replied, ~Is everything okay?! You’ve been in there with Mom for, like, an hour and Mel and Jess are worried sick about you!~

~Your mom thinks it’s from our body chemistries changing to suit our Salamanders, and that you’re going to be suffering from this hell too when your time of the month hits. She said it should serve as a regular reminder for us to think before acting in the future. She wants you in here so she can tell us what to expect,~ I sent back as another cramp had me bent over in agony. I idly wondered just how much of my discomfort the empathic portion of the mental link would carry to her.

The answer was apparently a lot, and I could feel her mind recoiling. ~Holy crap, that… I’m in for that too?!~

There was a moment of silence where I figured that she was either delivering the news to Jess and Melody or trying to calm herself before she spoke again. Possibly both. ~Yeah, misery loves company and all that,~ I shot back, trying to sound happier about our mutual suffering than I had any right to be at the moment.

~Yeah, sure it does,~ she answered with something akin to a mental groan. ~Okay, I told your sister and Mel what’s going on, should I be bringing Mel for this too? She has a Salamander too.~

~Just tell her there’s a chance she might experience something like it, but your mom doesn’t seem to be worried about it because of Melody’s already weird half-Demon biology. And hurry up and get your butt in here, I feel like crap and I want to get this lecture over with.~ I immediately felt bad as it probably came out sounding snappier than I had intended.

~Message sent, and I’m on my way,~ she sent a moment later. Thankfully, Carmen was just a short walk down the hallway away, so I didn’t have to wait for long in an awkward silence with her mother for her to arrive.

There was a hesitant tapping at the door a moment later, followed by its opening to allow Carmen to slip inside. “Umm… hey, Mom. Crystal passed on your lec… message.”

Neither of us missed Carmen’s near slip-up. Her mother nodded seriously and gestured to the spot beside me on the examination table. “Have a seat, Honey. I’m not going to lecture either of you again about the Salamander incident since I trust that you both now realize that your actions have consequences. I just want to tell you both what I believe that you can expect from this unexpected hiccup.”

Carmen sighed and sat beside me while giving me a sidelong look. “I think I know what to expect, and from what I felt in Crystal’s mind, and how she looks right now, I am not looking forward to it. My regular period was bad enough, thanks.”

“Yes, it’s likely going to be very uncomfortable for both of you,” Dr. Diaz agreed before looking toward me in concern and asking, “Is the Midol helping at all, Crystal?”

I grimaced and shook my head. “Not really, at least, not with the pain from the cramps.”

The doctor frowned and placed a hand gently on my abdomen. I could feel Divine magic welling up from inside of her and flowing through her hand into me causing immediate relief. The cramps weren’t gone completely, but at least they were down to a much more manageable discomfort than a near-constant chorus of agony.

“This won’t last long, Crystal,” Dr. Diaz advised as she removed her hand, “maybe a couple of hours. I would prescribe you something stronger to manage your discomfort more effectively, but I don’t know of any potent pain relievers that I would feel comfortable giving a Fey without strictly monitoring you to ensure no ill effects. I would suggest that you get your mother to teach you a spell to relieve pain as soon as you can. Otherwise, you’ll be in for a rough ride. If Carmen’s pain is as bad as what you seem to be going through when her period arrives then I will likely end up doing the same for her.”

Yeah, I was totally going to talk to Mom about teaching me a spell like that, I almost felt human… err Nymph again. “I’ll ask her about it after breakfast tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll be asleep by the time she’s off work… if I can sleep like this.”

“Come see me before you go to bed tonight and I’ll cast the spell on you again so you can sleep more comfortably,” Carmen’s mother offered sympathetically before then getting down to business. “If my theory about how the Salamanders are affecting your physiology is correct, then you can both likely expect rough periods like this every month. Fortunately, there is probably a bright side. I believe that your period is being accelerated due to your altered biology, Crystal, resulting in increased discomfort and heavier flow. Your periods will be rough, but probably not very long. I’m guessing two to three days rather than the usual three to five days.”

“Ugh… two or three days like this?” I complained. “Every month?”

Dr. Diaz nodded, once again in serious doctor mode. “I am sure that you will adjust, and learning a proper spell to relieve pain will help to minimize your discomfort. Crystal, I would suggest not being overly active during this time since being active can cause more discomfort, so ease off on the dance lessons until it has passed this month, and in the future, try not to work on nights like this and enjoy a few days off. Most of the dancers in the club take a few days off during that time of the month anyway.” That did explain why Nixie took a few extra days off after Christmas and hung out with the rest of us above the club.

“Wait, does that mean no sex?” I asked, completely aghast. “Of course, it does, silly Nymph… who would even want to do that with me when I’m like this? I’m bloated, irritable, and bleeding down there. And I bet the constant grimacing in pain makes me look hideous too,” I thought bitterly. I didn’t even want to touch myself while I was feeling like this, though without the agonizing pain distracting me…

Her reply shocked me out of those thoughts. “No, I would encourage it if you can find a willing partner, or at least you should do something about it yourself. Try the pulse setting in your shower if you must. Some women find that they get aroused more during their period, and given your usual state… In fact, some sort of sexual activity will likely be good for you right now.”

“Wait, what?” I asked as I gaped at her.

“Sexual activity triggers the release of endorphins, which make you feel good, and it occupies your mind, taking it off your discomfort,” she explained candidly. “Plus, there is scientific evidence that orgasms may relieve menstrual cramps. Your uterus contracting to release its lining is what causes those cramps and when you have an orgasm, it also causes the muscles of your uterus to contract, and then release. That release may bring some relief from period cramps, and the muscle contractions during orgasm help to push out the contents of your uterus faster, which could make your period shorter overall.”

Well, guess who was going to be having a nice, long, and relaxing shower sometime soon? This Nymph, that’s who. As gross as I was feeling from this whole ordeal so far, I had already planned on taking one so I could feel clean, but this made me want to do it even more, once the magic that dulled my pain wore off anyway. I didn’t think that Melody would be interested in doing anything with me while I was like this, but it wouldn’t hurt to try it out, and I was pretty sure that my showerhead wouldn’t object.

I wasn’t happy about this whole situation, but at least there were positives to it, and I would hopefully have some methods to relieve my discomfort. Not being alone in it helped a bit too, but Carmen didn’t look any happier about the situation than I was as her mother launched into a lecture about how we might have to change our personal hygiene regime down south while this was going on. She was very direct, and we were both blushing and cringing by the end of it. It’s true, misery really does love company.

There was also an embarrassing reminder for me to continue taking my birth control pills, and to be sure to use a condom if I had sex with a guy, even during my period. Okay, embarrassing is a massive understatement, it was mortifying. Attracted as I was to just about anyone with a pulse now, I had only ever had sex with Melody so far and the mere thought of doing it with a guy had me both incredibly turned on and blushing a bright shade of Crystal Red TM in response.

At least I wasn’t the only one on the examination table turning bright red. Carmen was noticeably blushing up a storm as well as she protested, “Ugh, I did not need to hear or think about Crystal’s sex life, Mom. I mean, I know she’s a Nymph, but…”

“No, I suppose you didn’t,” her mother agreed, “but I think it’s about time that we discuss yours, now that this has come up. Despite some… questionable decisions lately, I try to trust that you are smart enough to know what you’re doing and will act responsibly. That being said, you are at that age where you might want to experiment. So, I hope that you were listening very carefully to what I told Crystal just now because the same goes for you. I will be giving you a prescription for birth control pills as well, and condoms for you to keep in your purse and nightstand.”

Oh good, Carmen was now much more embarrassed than I was, and the attention was on her now as she squirmed beside me. “Geez, Mom! It’s like you want me to go out and… do that.”

“Carmen, you’re my baby, but you’re fifteen now and I try to be realistic and somewhat liberal in my expectations. Given where we live, you are constantly exposed to sex as both a concept and a reality through the people we interact with. Crystal is a good example of this. While I truly hope that you will not take that step until you feel ready, I do know that the temptation is there. I just want to be sure that if you do end up having sex, that you do it responsibly. Far too many mothers these days fail to have a serious talk about this with their daughters until it’s too late. So, I’m doing this now, for both of our sakes,” she said seriously as she gripped her daughter’s hands.

Okay, now I felt like I was intruding on a family moment. “I should… umm…” I stammered as hopped off the table.

“Not so fast, young lady. We’re not done here,” Dr. Diaz interjected. “Do either of you have any questions or concerns about anything that we just talked about?”

“I’m concerned that I’ll never get over the humiliation,” Carmen muttered beside me.

“No, you were very… thorough,” I answered, trying not to cringe at the thought of some of the stuff she had gone over, especially in regard to periods, proper hygiene, and possible consequences in excruciating detail. It was like she was trying to terrify us both… and it worked. I would be making very sure that I keep myself as clean as possible down there for the rest of my presumably very long life.

“Good,” she said with a smile, “we’re done here then. Let’s go get some dinner, I’m sure that you must be getting hungry, Crystal.”

I was very much not hungry as we left the clinic and made our way to the common room. After the graphic lecture she had just given us, I wasn’t sure that I would ever want to think of food again until my stomach growled in protest. “Traitor,” I grumbled under my breath. Okay, I would get food, but only because Cinder was hungry, and I was eating for her too. At least my mental embrace and positive thoughts had calmed her down somewhat.

I barely got to the common room before a blue and gold blur hit me and I found myself being nearly crushed in Selina’s embrace. “Momma! Are you okay?!” An instant later, Sorcha crashed into my leg to deliver a similar hug.

~Sorry, Crystal. I kinda whispered what was going on to Mel and Jess. I didn’t want to discuss that whole thing in front of the kids, but I think it backfired and worried them,~ Carmen immediately apologized.

Technically, Selina wasn’t really a kid and would probably have to deal with periods herself soon, but hopefully not this bad. Still, I could understand where Carmen was coming from and gave her a nod in response as I wrapped my arms around my daughter and gently told her, “I’ll be fine, Selina, once you stop crushing me. Please, ease up a little bit. You’re strong, and I’m a delicate flower.”

That got a snort of amusement out of my sister, which had been the goal since she and Melody had both looked so worried when they brought me home. It was my way of telling her I’d be fine. Selina was hugging me a bit too hard though, I could practically hear my spine creaking.

“Are you sure, Momma? You looked like you were in so much pain, and you were in the clinic for so long,” Selina replied in concern. She did loosen her grip somewhat though, allowing me to give her a lighter hug and reach down to ruffle Sorcha’s hair.

“Yeah, it’s nothing serious and I’ll probably be feeling better in a few days. It just caught us by surprise, and Dr. Diaz used magic to help with the pain for a bit,” I assured her. “She just wanted to be sure that everything is okay with me, you know how thorough she likes to be.”

“Speaking of that, Crystal should eat something, I could hear her stomach growling all the way here,” Dr. Diaz interrupted with a sidelong look toward Sorcha’s mother. “Why don’t all of you kids decide what you want from the kitchen so Aislinn and I can go down and place the order?”

Left unsaid, was that she would be taking advantage of getting Aislinn alone in the elevator for a few minutes to tell her all about what was really going on, what caused it, and that Sorcha could probably expect the same when she eventually hit puberty. The latter was still quite some time away, but Aislinn deserved to know so she could be prepared when her daughter was of age. Now I felt really guilty since Sorcha was Fey too and would have the same problem with drugs as I do, but she wouldn’t have the advantage of being able to learn her own healing spells to help with the discomfort.

No, I couldn’t think that way, that would be making it out like we did something wrong when bonding with our Salamanders. Okay, sure, we should have thought of consequences before acting, but there was a lot of good that came out of our impulsive decision that day. I refused to see Cinder as a consequence, she was a child who needed me, just like Selina, and I had learned and gained so much from bonding with her. I was sure that Carmen felt the same way about Blaze, and I often found Sorcha happily chatting away to Squiggles as she watched TV or played.

Because we were bonded with these baby Salamanders, we discovered Ashe’s true intelligence and gained a way to communicate with her, each other, and the babies once they were older. We had also gained the physical benefits of the bonding and I figured that a couple of rough days every month was worth it when we were protected against heat and fire and healed faster, not to mention that Ashe indicated that these babies would fiercely protect us when they got older. I would not want a Salamander pissed at me, not with how hot their flames can go, even at their small size they would be a dangerous foe to anger.

Once I had finally assured Selina and Sorcha that I truly was okay and we all decided what we wanted for dinner, I snuggled up against my girlfriend to refill my cuddle meter and lazily brushed and braided Selina’s hair to assure her that everything was fine. Before long, Dr. Diaz and Aislin returned with our meals, assisted by a couple of the club’s waitresses and Mom, who was taking a break to check up on me. She looked so relieved that it wasn’t something more serious and promised to teach me a pain relief spell, right after breakfast in the morning, before returning downstairs to get back to work.

After that, my sister, daughter, girlfriend, and I spent the evening together with Carmen, Lou, Sorcha, Dr, Diaz, and Aislinn to ring in the new year, just relaxing as we snacked and watched cartoons for Sorcha and Selina’s benefit. We were allowing them to stay up until midnight for tonight only and the night went as smoothly as I could have hoped, though Dr. Diaz had to cast that spell on me a couple more times before the countdown. It was a nice way to end what had been a stressful day.

My alarm clock showed the time to be 5:36 a.m. when I finally gave up on getting any more sleep and decided to get out of bed to take a shower. The pain relief spell that Dr. Diaz had used on me before I headed to bed allowed me to get a couple of hours of sleep before the cramps from hell woke me up again, but I was just too uncomfortable to get back to sleep. Seriously, this was the worst I had felt in my whole life, and the thought of going through this every month only served to make me want to scream.

Not only did I have the cramps and bloating to deal with, but having to sleep in panties to keep my pad and tampon in place was constantly twigging at my brain. Unfortunately, that piece of clothing was necessary at the moment, no matter how mentally uncomfortable it was making me, at least, it was necessary if I didn’t want my bed to be a bloody mess. I was also hornier than I had ever been, and that is saying something, but last night that had been tempered by feeling gross, dirty, and completely undesirable in my current state.

The combination of all of these factors was enough for me to want to just crawl out of bed and into the shower to see if Dr. Diaz was right about orgasms helping ease the discomfort in addition to getting some satisfaction. If they also helped to somehow end this hell sooner, well, that would be wonderful. Melody had offered to help before bed last night with her magic fingers, but I had begged off for the night and probably ended up worrying her in the process.

Yeah, I know. I, a freaking Nymph, turned down sex with the girl I’m in love/lust with? What was I thinking? The truth was that I was feeling very gross and unattractive, and it was giving my Nymph vanity a real beating. How could even Melody find me attractive like this, and why would she want to do anything sex-related with me when I was this disgusting and would only end up getting blood all over her, myself, and the sheets? Talk about a mood killer, unless you were into that kind of thing, but I was pretty sure that Melody wasn’t.

Okay, yeah, it wasn’t like she’d be giving me oral, just a little finger action, but she would be doing it for my sake and not because she wanted to. Maybe she did want to, and maybe I was just blowing this all out of proportion in my head, but as much as I kept trying to convince myself of that, there was that nasty voice in the back of my mind telling me otherwise. It kept telling me that I was unattractive, that nobody could possibly want me like this, and that Melody was just offering a pity fuck.

That struck right at my ego because I was a Nymph, and I didn’t want to be anyone’s pity fuck. Usually, I was beautiful and desirable, and I could probably have anyone I wanted in my bed. The thought of my own girlfriend only offering to have sex with me because she felt sorry for me hurt, even if it was just some dark thought haunting the back of my mind that probably wasn’t even true. It felt true, and that was enough.

These thoughts and doubts had been running around in my mind in circles, like a dog chasing its own tail, since I first woke up in agony two hours earlier. Between them and the physical discomfort of my period, I had gotten a pretty good bout of depression and self-loathing going by this point, so it took a herculean mental effort to drag myself out of bed and make my way to the shower. It wasn’t like I was going to get back to sleep like this anyway.

The bed was empty except for me, something that had become unusual over the past couple of weeks. Since I had taken responsibility for Selina becoming a Paranormal and imprinting on me as a mother figure, I was getting used to waking up with someone else joining me in bed. Selina still had nightmares about the night we found her and her life before she ran away from her normie family, and likely would for a long time to come, so she would often come in to get some comfort and reassurance from ‘Momma’ and climb in bed with me. Melody often slept with me after several rounds of glorious sex before bed, so usually I ended up sandwiched between them in the morning.

Even if Melody did honestly want to do anything with me last night when I told her I wasn’t feeling up to it, why would she want to stick around knowing that I was probably going to wake up irritable, in pain, and likely to snap at her for no good reason. I knew I brought this on myself by pushing her away last night, but I wanted to be held and comforted right now as much as Selina usually did when she came into my room after a nightmare. That thought only made me feel worse.

Not only had I pushed my girlfriend away over something that was probably stupid, but I was now worried that Selina wasn’t in my bed because she didn’t want to bother me when I wasn’t feeling well. She had been worrying and hovering around me last night until I put her to bed, obviously concerned about me. What if she had a nightmare but didn’t come into my room because of that?

As much as I wanted to be there for her whenever she needed me, like a good parent, did I give off signals last night that I wasn’t ‘available’ to her right now? “Fuck, I’m a terrible mother,” I thought miserably as I made my way into the bathroom. “And a terrible sister, a terrible girlfriend, just… everything. I can’t even handle some stupid period, like a normal girl.”

I peeled off my panties and, after disposing of the disgusting tampon and pad, stepped into the shower. I managed to get the water started before the tears that I felt coming hit me and I practically collapsed to the floor in a sobbing mess. I’m not sure how long I was there, just crying and hugging my knees, as the water washed over me and doubts and fears that would later seem stupid gnawed at my mind. After I had cried myself out, it was the unfamiliar thoughts that brought me out of my downward spiral.

The thoughts weren’t mine, they were infantile, not completely formed, the mental equivalent of baby talk. Honestly, it was more of a bundle of emotions than anything; confusion, worry, and love being those at the forefront. Still, it was more focused and direct than anything I had sensed before from Cinder’s mind. She was awake, could sense all of the conflicting negative emotions inside me, and she was worried about me.

It snapped me out of the daze of depression as I almost thought something that I knew was untrue to the infant mind that shared my headspace. No. This was not Cinder’s fault. She was a baby, one that I had made the choice to nurture and care for. Yes, that had come with some unexpected hiccups, but she was worth it. I summoned all of the love and care that I felt for her and wrapped them around her nascent mind like a warm blanket as I tried to reassure her, and myself, that everything was okay.

“Sorry, my sweet baby,” I mentally soothed, “I’m… okay, everything is okay. I’m just not feeling so great, but that doesn’t mean that I love you, or the other people I care for, any less. I’ll… try to think happier thoughts.”

I got shakily to my feet, set the showerhead to pulse, and tried to focus on other things, like working my way up to a nice orgasm to stave off the underlying horniness I had been feeling. If Dr. Diaz was right, then maybe it would help with more than that too. Was I going to try to hide this activity from Cinder now that she was awake and seemingly starting to develop mentally? No, I was not.

For one thing, it would be stupid. She shared my body and mind, and it would be impossible to hide it from her. Secondly, my needs as a Nymph are a big part of who I am. Cinder and I would likely be bonded for a very long time, and we needed to acknowledge and respect each other’s physical and mental needs if this was going to work out.

Soon, I was so involved in the good feelings that the spray was generating between my legs that I was mostly able to tune out the discomfort. Endorphins and distraction for the win. Four wonderous orgasms later, I was leaning against the shower wall to catch my breath and support my shaking legs and feeling much better. My horniness was largely abated, for the moment, and while the discomfort from my period was still there, the pain was now down to a much more manageable level. I guess Carmen’s mom was right about that too.

As I stood there, leaning against the shower wall on trembling legs, I realized that I was being way too hard on myself, and probably everyone else too. I still wanted to check up on Selina, but I was pretty sure that Melody was just giving me my space right now because I had literally asked for it, not because she didn’t want me or find me attractive. It’s amazing what a good cry, some unconditional love, and several orgasms can do for a girl’s state of mind.

Once my legs finally stopped trembling, I started to go through my usual morning routine, though, after Dr. Diaz’s lecture yesterday, I was very careful to do a thorough job cleaning up between my legs. Soon, I was washed, dried, dressed, and sitting at my vanity to brush my hair and put on some light makeup. By this point, it was a few minutes after eight o’clock and I still had almost an hour before breakfast.

As much as I was tired, and probably could have used the sleep while the discomfort was lessened, I decided to wait to have a nap later so I wouldn’t mess up all of the work I had just done getting clean and prettied up. That, and I didn’t want to miss breakfast. Since I wouldn’t be having my lessons with the Dicken sisters today and was supposed to be taking it easy, I figured there would be plenty of time for a nap after my Divine magic lesson with Mom.

So, I wouldn’t be tempted to fall asleep by being inactive, I left my room and made my way down the hall to Selina’s to check on my daughter. I was still a little worried that she might have had a nightmare last night and not come to me because she was wary about bothering me while I wasn’t feeling well. She was still getting used to having a caring family after all, and as her mother I wanted her to know that I wasn’t going to ignore her because I wasn’t feeling up to being a proper parent.

I tapped on Selina’s door, but there was no answer, so I carefully opened it. Her bed had messed up sheets and blankets but was otherwise empty. The sound of the shower from her bathroom let me know that she was indeed already awake and why she hadn’t responded to my knock. I took a seat on her bed to wait for her and spent some time mentally snuggling with Cinder while trying to get a good start mentally communicating with the infant Salamander using more than just feelings.

The sound of running water from the bathroom stopped and shortly after I could hear Selina brushing her teeth before stepping back into her bedroom without bothering to dress yet. It was no surprise since wearing clothes made her as uncomfortable and anxious as it made me. I didn’t usually put any on until I was just about ready to leave my room either. She was so striking with that dark blue skin covered in gold freckles, those glowing translucent azure butterfly wings with veins of gold, and her turquoise-streaked honey-blonde hair. My girl was going to be a heartbreaker someday.

As soon as she saw me, Selina’s turquoise and gold eyes lit up for a moment before a concerned expression settled upon her face instead. “Momma? Is everything okay?” she asked uncertainly. I suppose I couldn’t blame her since it wasn’t often that I invaded her private space except when putting her to bed or having a private talk with her.

“Everything is fine, Sweetie,” I assured her. “I’m still not feeling great, but it’s bearable for the moment. I was up early, so I just wanted to see if you slept okay. I thought that maybe I would brush and braid your hair before breakfast, and we could spend a little mother/daughter time together.”

Selina ran over to hug me, completely forgetting about her current state of undress. She was nuzzling her head against my chest as she admitted, “I didn’t sleep so good, Momma. I was worried about you, you looked like you were in so much pain yesterday.”

I wrapped her up gently in my arms and whispered softly, “I’m okay, Honey, and if you want, I’ll explain in a minute, but first I want you to listen while I tell you something very important, okay?”

Her head bobbed in a nod against my chest as she said, “Okay, Momma.”

“I’m your mother now, and I want to be a good one, Selina,” I told her gently as I held her close. “Please, don’t ever feel like you can’t come to me for anything, being there for you when you need me is part of the job. Sometimes I might not be feeling well, or in a bad mood, but that will never mean that I don’t have time for you. You’re my girl, and I will always try to be here if you have a nightmare, need a shoulder to cry on, or good advice, or even if you just need a hug. Because that’s what good moms do.”

“I… I didn’t want to bother you when you were feeling bad, Momma.”

“You are never a bother to me, Selina. And if I’m not here when you need me then there’s always Melody, your Aunt Jess, my mom and Pandora, Dr. Diaz, Aislinn, or anyone else in this big crazy family of ours until I come home and can be here for you myself,” I told her sternly before adding, and there’s no reason to worry about me. This is just… my time of the month, and bonding with Cinder has made it a little more complicated, but Dr. Diaz says that while it might be more uncomfortable, it should be over quicker.”

I didn’t see any reason to hide it from her now that Sorcha wasn’t around since she’d likely be experiencing it herself soon, though hopefully not as bad as this. I could feel her heave a heavy sigh of relief before asking in a slightly confused tone, “Your time of the month?”

Right, she grew up as a boy, had barely hit puberty before I changed her, and her memories of her time before she came to live with us were like Swiss cheese. This resulted in me having to give my new daughter ‘the talk’. The very same talk that I had received not even two weeks ago. Giving this talk to my daughter and having some very painful experience now to back it up, was not something that I would have considered back when I was still a guy a few weeks ago.

So, I explained things to her from my new perspective and assured her that things shouldn’t be nearly as bad when it happened to her unless she bonded with a Salamander. In that case, at least it wouldn’t be a surprise for her like it was for me. I actually managed to get through the whole conversation without feeling completely mortified. I was only about ninety percent mortified, but this was something that she needed to learn about and now it was my job to teach her.

On that note, I also warned her that we couldn’t be absolutely certain about anything where her biology was concerned, and we could only really wait and see what happened. Selina was an entirely new species of Paranormal after all, and I didn’t want to take anything for granted regarding normal development for her kind. No matter what came I would be there to help her through it though.

My sister briefly poked her head in to see if Selina needed any help with her hair and stuff, but once she heard what I was talking to Selina about, the traitorous bunny promptly ignored my pleading look and ducked back out into the hallway to leave us alone. After I made sure to cover all of the bases and we were both blushing up a storm, I took a hairdryer to her hair and then brushed and braided it for her. It was nice and relaxing for us both after such an awkward conversation.

The talk had taken so long that by the time she got dressed, we were a few minutes late for breakfast, and Jess and the others had gone downstairs without us. Of course, the brief relief that I had managed to get during my shower was slowly receding and by the time breakfast was over, I had once again arrived at Agony Central. Thankfully, Mom was able to keep her promise and teach me a pain relief spell.

Feeling so much more comfortable after casting that spell on myself the first time, and still exhausted from not getting near enough sleep, once my magic lesson with Mom was done, I took Selina back to my room so we could both have a nice nap while Jess and Melody went through their hand-to-hand combat lessons. We had a nice mother-daughter cuddle session and quickly fell asleep.

I was glad that I set an alarm to wake us up for lunch because I was completely zonked out until it woke us. The pain and discomfort from my period were starting to return by that point, so when I went to use the bathroom, I cast the pain relief spell on myself again. I was going to get a lot of practice with that particular spell over the next couple of days.

Once I was feeling relief, in more ways than one, I quickly replaced my tampon and pad, washed up, and then Selina and I went downstairs to join the rest of the family for lunch. Since New Year's Day fell on a Saturday, and the club would be closed both today and tomorrow, everyone was pretty happy to have another weekend completely off and spend some family time today. The Dicken Sisters were a little disappointed that we couldn’t use most of the weekend to get me ready to start performing after my upcoming birthday, but they understood why.

The four of us did hang out with Rhissa during the afternoon and go over a few things that wouldn’t be too physically demanding for me though, while Selina was playing with Sorcha and my sister and girlfriend were putting their training to the test by sparring. We discussed the three dance numbers that Stella had choreographed for me and that I had been practicing over the past week and Adora went more into how to work a crowd and make men putty in my hands, both on the stage and in the bedroom.

I was blushing quite a bit during that conversation, especially since her sisters and Rhissa joined in, and the conversation got very raunchy. The four of them were fun to hang out with, were the closest dancers in the club to my own age, and they all had the same needs and desires as I did. So, despite my embarrassment and inexperience, it was nice to spend time with them not just as a part of my strange new family, but as friends as well. If I could learn from their experiences too, all the better.

Carmen had spent the afternoon getting Healing lessons from her mom and learning the same kind of pain relief spell that I was learning for when her own time of the month came. When she, Melody, and Jess were finished with their lessons though, they came to hang out with us, and the conversation was quickly toned down for Carmen’s sake. Since we were hanging out in the club and it was currently closed though, Anita asked if the three of them wanted to give pole dancing a try, just for the fun of it.

What followed, when they took her up on the offer of lessons, was hilarious. Jess was pretty good, but that wasn’t a surprise since she was pretty limber and had taken both dance and voice lessons in preparation for her future acting career. Melody was not a dancer though, and by the time her lesson was over I was starting to think she might just be hamming it up for the entertainment value. Carmen wasn’t terrible, but the exaggerated expressions on her face when she tried to look all sultry and mature had us all laughing our asses off.

It also got Adora giving Carmen pointers on how to be properly sultry, which had both the fifteen-year-old Healer and my sister taking mental notes. Carmen was actually kind of self-conscious about living with so many beautiful women and not having any idea about how to flirt or get boys to take an interest in her. She wasn’t interested in working at the club as anything but a Healer and doctor someday, but she sometimes compared herself unkindly to the beautiful women who worked at the club.

“You’re very pretty, Carmen,” Rhissa told her gently at one point. “Don’t compare yourself to us, with the right makeup and clothes, you’ll be a boy magnet, and we can teach you how to flirt and even turn a guy down if you’re not interested.”

“I’m pretty sure my mom would kill me if I tried dressing like most of you do outside of the club,” Carmen countered. “Lessons on not being a total spaz around cute boys would be nice though.”

“We wouldn’t let you dress like us either, Carmen,” Adora pointed out. “We’re all pretty focused on sex, but you’re too young to be trying to attract boys that way. You can be modest and still get a boy’s attention, just look at Rhissa. She has to wear long skirts all the time to hide her tail, so her style is more modest than ours, but she knows how to make that work in her favor.”

The conversation turned to various styles that could work for Carmen without being too slutty, and how she could flirt with boys without being awkward or coming on too strong. We kept chatting away until dinner and then the rest of the night was devoted to everyone in the club watching movies and playing board games together until it was time to put Sorcha, and later Selina to bed. Around eleven o’clock, Melody and I decided to call it a night and went to my room together.

As soon as we were both inside and getting out of our clothes, I awkwardly offered, “I’m sorry… about last night, Melody. I was feeling kind of miserable and unattractive, and I pushed you away because I was afraid that you wouldn’t be interested in… well, me when I’m like this and bleeding all over the place. I didn’t want you forcing yourself for my sake.”

By the time I finished my awkward apology, I was down to my panties and Melody firmly pushed me onto the bed where she kissed me so passionately that fireworks were going off in my brain and my body started to heat up from my pent-up desire for her. When she finally released me from the lip lock to come up for air, she gasped out. “Babe… you are never… unattractive. You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met, and I love you, and desire you, no matter what.”

She leaned down, raining kisses upon my face, neck, and breasts as the fingers of her right hand slipped inside my panties to deftly press, rub, and flick at my love button until I exploded in orgasm. After that, she spent the next couple of hours showing me exactly how much pleasure she could give me without ever having to take my panties off. She didn’t take hers off either since it seemed that she had started her period earlier today as well. Fortunately for her, her Demon biology seemed to spare her the hell I was going through with mine.

I did my best to reciprocate and make her feel as good as she was making me feel using the same techniques until we were both spent. I was relaxed, feeling good, and happily snuggled with my girlfriend in bed once we had both gotten cleaned up a bit and changed our sanitary devices, just enjoying being held in her arms and feeling loved. Eventually, I dozed off and managed to get a few hours of sleep before I was awoken by the hellish cramps again. Thankfully, after casting the pain relief spell to make myself somewhat comfortable for a few more hours, I was able to quickly get back to sleep.

Thankfully, I only had to use my new pain relief spell a couple of times on Sunday, and mostly took it easy for the day. By midafternoon, the discomfort seemed less intense without the spell in effect and when I checked before bed, my flow seemed to have stopped completely. Thank goodness Dr. Diaz was right about my period being relatively short, though I did wear panties and a pad to bed just in case it wasn’t quite over yet.

Monday was supposed to be our last day of freedom before school started up, but it ended up being pretty busy for me, my sister, and Melody. I was extremely grateful that my period was over since feeling terrible and having to keep constantly casting spells to alleviate the discomfort from it would have made the morning even more miserable. The morning was the worst of it since the three of us had to leave with Mom and Aunt Merry right after breakfast to visit our new school.

If we were going to start classes the next day, the three of us needed to get our entrance exams out of the way, register, and sort several other issues out. For that, we needed to go to St. Michelle’s School for Girls and meet with the headmistress. Carmen had already gotten all of that done before the holidays to prepare for attending there, but we had arrived in Edmonton too late for that. I would have much rather continued to homeschool, like Jess and I did when we still lived with Dad, but this was a school for Paranormal girls, and Mom pointed out several reasons why it would be a good idea for us to go there.

There were social aspects, of course, but the biggest reason was that we could learn to use our respective Paranormal abilities better. Mom could teach me Divine magic, but even with an alignment to the Divine, her ability to use magic for other elements was limited. She had very little experience using Ice, which was my primary element. Even in just one semester, the school could probably help me to get a much better handle on Ice magic than what I had managed to work out on my own, or at least on how to use it consciously rather than instinctively whenever I panic.

Melody was decent with Fire magic, from what I had seen, but she was mostly self-taught, and she was also aligned to the Death element. She had avoided using Death magic like the plague since she Manifested, but having some idea of what could be done with Death magic, even if she planned on never using it herself, would be useful. No knowledge is ever wasted, and there were aspects of the Death element that weren’t about death, decay, or necromancy, such as darkness.

If it were just about magic though, I probably would have asked Mom to just let me keep homeschooling and try to work out Ice magic on my own, so I would have more time to work at the club and spend with Selina. It wasn’t just about me though. I was going through with this for my sister and my girlfriend.

I had heard from several people already how good the shapeshifting teachers at St. Michelle were. With their help, maybe Jessica could get over whatever block was keeping her from being able to shift her ears and some of her other bunny features. If she was going to make her dream of being a big-name Hollywood actress come true, then she needed to be able to take on a form that looks completely human.

As for Melody, she seldom admitted it, but having to drop out of school when she first Manifested made her feel stupid. She wasn’t, of course, but she could be hard on herself about stuff like that. She was mostly going to the school to protect me and Jess, but this would allow her to finish high school, get a diploma, and hopefully help resolve her low self-esteem regarding having to drop out.

We drove to our destination in the Charger, crossing the river at the closest bridge as we made our way toward Muttart Conservatory. Apparently, the school was on private property near there and I followed my GPS until we pulled into a side road that led to a pair of large steel gates that were currently open in a ten-foot-tall brick privacy fence. There was a large sign to the right of the gates that confirmed that we had arrived at our destination.

I was surprised that there was no illusion covering the site or the usual telltale graffiti on the sign that usually marked Paranormal spaces. There was however an obfuscation spell that I could sense. It was likely the type of spell that would make non-magical folk not notice the place or anything unusual, and then forget it existed if they did happen to notice it. The latter probably didn’t happen often though since it was on private property and away from the main road.

I continued to drive up the road and through the trees that lined either side until I spotted the school itself. It was a large and old-looking brick building with smaller buildings on either side and except for the buildings and the parking lot that I pulled into, most of the property seemed to be occupied by snow-covered trees. I guess that made sense since a lot of Paranormals, like us Nymphs, were very connected to nature.

Once I had claimed a spot in the mostly empty parking lot, we got out of the Charger and followed a cobblestone path that had been cleared of snow and ice to the main building. We entered though the main doors into a spacious hallway where a flurry of activity was going on to prepare for the start of school tomorrow. Brownies and various other Paranormals were dusting, waxing the checkerboard-tiled floor, and performing various other acts of cleaning that students arriving tomorrow likely wouldn’t realize had been done, or just not care about.

Thankfully, Mom knew her way around the school from when she and Pandora had Rhissa attending here the past few years, so she knew where we needed to go. Mom led us straight down the hall and past classrooms to a large foyer area with the biggest pair of curved staircases I had ever seen, which took us to the second floor. Then, we made our way down another hallway to a large, sturdy, wooden door with a polished brass plate that marked it as Administration.

Inside that door was a cozy reception area where a large, blue-skinned woman with a pair of large horns on her head sat behind the reception desk. She looked up as Mom opened the door and led us through. “Tiffani! I haven’t seen you and Pandora since Rhissa graduated last year,” she offered cheerfully.

“Hi, Noriko. We’ve been keeping pretty busy with running the club, you know how it is,” Mom replied before getting to the reason for our presence. “My daughters here just came to live with me over the holidays. Crystal was a late bloomer and just Manifested recently, and I thought that St. Michelle’s would be the best place for them so they can learn to use their abilities, so I’m here to get them and Miss Sòng here registered for classes.”

“Sure, that’s not a problem, Tiffani. They have their PDA cards and other documents, right?” At my mother’s nod, she went on to say, “I’ll get the paperwork and entrance exams ready for them while you all meet with Headmistress Collins. Just let me buzz you in.”

“Thanks, Noriko.” Mom said as Merry took a seat to wait for us.

“Dana, Tiffani Cummings is here with some prospective new students,” the big blue woman said as she pressed the intercom.

“Send them right in, Noriko,” a feminine voice replied with just a hint of intercom static.

Mom led us past the reception desk as Noriko began looking through filing cabinets for something, and right through the door in the back. This door led to a spacious office with comfortable-looking chairs and a couch positioned around a coffee table to one side. The other side was more of what I was expecting with a large desk positioned in front of a massive bay window, a pair of chairs facing it, and behind the desk and seated in a big leather office chair was a somewhat average-looking woman.

She had a slight figure, pale skin with the start of crow’s feet around her eyes, dark brown hair shot with grey, and intense blue eyes that seemed to be watching our every movement and critically analyzing our features as we filed into the office behind my mother. She looked like the stern but fair type, but there was nothing obvious to hint that she was Paranormal. Looking like an average normie didn’t mean anything though since she could always be a Psychic, Were, Mage, or have some kind of shapeshifting ability.

The headmistress continued to examine us as Mom once again explained things, going into a little more detail this time. Once she was done, the woman leaned back in her chair thoughtfully. “I can’t say that we’ve ever had a Snow Nymph here before, or a Nymph period, for that matter. As long as Crystal can control herself, I don’t have any issues with her attending though. Half-Demons aren’t very common either, but I’m sure all three of you will benefit from the education that we can give you.”

“So, we’re in then?” Melody asked hopefully. She was the only one of the three of us looking forward to going to school.

“Of course, I know that Tiffani and Pandora can cover the school fees and, as I said, you will all benefit from what we can teach you here. I’ll have Noriko escort you all to a classroom to administer your entrance exams while Tiffani and I work on the paperwork.” She must have caught the worried look on Melody’s face as well because she quickly clarified, “This is not a pass or fail exam, Miss Sòng. This is merely to see where you are at in your educational journey so we can tailor your more mundane classes to your individual needs.”

Melody breathed a sigh of relief, and both my sister and I put an arm around her to show our support before Headmaster Collins called in Noriko. The Oni woman was already prepared, having a stack of papers and some pencils and erasers for us on her desk, which she carefully snatched up as we passed back through reception, and she led us to the closest classroom to take our tests. For the next two hours, my sister, girlfriend, and I did our best to complete the exam.

That exam was a lot easier than I thought, but Jess and I had both been doing well at our homeschooling and were even a little ahead of where we were supposed to be. I was so glad that Melody had completely sated my desires last night and I had given myself a few orgasms in the shower this morning as well so I could do this without being completely distracted by thoughts of sex. I was just starting to get a little horny by the time we were told to put down our pencils, but it hadn’t been enough to shake my focus during the test.

With the exam finished, we were taken back to the Headmistress’s office, where she was having tea with Mom and Aunt Merry while they waited for us. The school’s head honcho graded our exams herself and, an hour later, was able to give us our results and suggestions for our educational needs. There were a couple of surprises that came from the exams though.

The first surprise was that Jessica and I were even further ahead in our studies than I thought we were since we had both scored above ninety-five percent on a test designed to meet graduation requirements. Take that, people who think Nymphs are all bimbos. Private schools generally have a higher standard, but we had both done well enough on the exam that we could have passed the finals for all of the required classes to graduate then and there.

With that in mind, our schedules for this semester would most likely just require a physical education class, and for the rest, my sister and I could focus on electives and classes to help us master our Paranormal abilities like the shapeshifting and magic classes respectively. Not that those would show up on our transcripts. They would show up as some other simple elective that we weren’t actually taking, like Art or something, in case we decided to attend a normie college or university, like Jess intended to.

Melody’s lack of education showed in her results, but that was also where the second surprise came in. It seemed that my girlfriend had a knack for complicated mathematics. Her scores in the math and algebra sections were way above her general education level. For my girlfriend, the headmistress was suggesting a physical education class, a trigonometry class to challenge her a bit, and two class sessions with Mrs. Jenner, the projective psychic who had helped Rhissa catch up so she could graduate last year. It was also suggested that she take both the magic and shapeshifting classes to refine her skills in those areas.

It was after lunch by the time that the Headmistress was finished with us, and we had our new schedules sorted out. We each had seven classes to choose, but there were only five classes per day and the schedule would alternate each day. We did each finally work out a schedule that worked for us and would let us have our P.E. classes together so Melody could watch over me and Jess.

I ended up choosing auto shop for my first-period class, followed by home economics, physical education, magic studies, art, study hall, and then a drama class that Jess convinced me and Melody to take with her. Jess started with computer studies, followed by home economics and P.E. alongside me, then she had art and shapeshifting before having study hall and drama with me again. Melody only had physical education and drama with me and Jess, but she did share my magic studies class and Jess’s shapeshifting class. The rest of Melody’s schedule consisted of trigonometry during first period and then her psychic catchup sessions with Mrs. Jenner during second and sixth periods, when she wasn’t teaching classes to the Psychic kids at the school.

Unfortunately, we weren’t done yet when we got our schedules sorted out because we still needed to go to get fitted for our school uniforms and gym uniforms. So, after a late lunch at the closest Subway sandwich shop, we headed to the tailor that St. Michelle’s contracted for their uniforms. Thankfully that didn’t take nearly as long as I feared.

The tailor was actually a Divine Mage, and she was able to use her magic to adjust pre-made uniforms to our individual sizes. Watching her, I realized that I still had a long way to go before I could have the control and precision that she displayed with her Divine magic. Even Mom was impressed by her control, though we both kept quiet about our Divine alignment.

The uniforms were made from silk and wool mostly, and the gym clothes from cotton, to avoid any allergy issues with the Fey attending St. Michelles. They featured a white blouse with a feminine tie that matched the black, red, and green tartan skirt. There was also a black blazer with the school insignia worn over the heart, white knee socks, and simple black Mary Janes. The outfit was completed by a black beret with a band around the base that matched the tartan pattern of the tie and skirt.

The gym uniforms were simple white t-shirts with the school insignia on the left of the chest, a pair of tight-fitting black shorts, and some white sports socks and black running shoes. I had a feeling that those gym uniforms were going to be a problem. The school uniforms had long sleeves on both the blouses and blazers, but the gym shirts were short-sleeved and Melody, Carmen, and I wouldn’t be able to easily hide our Salamander marks. We really needed either a good way to hide them or a very good excuse for why the three of us had matching tattoos at our ages.

By the time we arrived back at the club, laden with our new clothes for school, it was already after three o’clock. The club would be opening in less than an hour and, unfortunately for me, that meant I wasn’t going to have time to slip in more dance and pole dance practice with the Dicken sisters. Mom was able to give me a brief Divine magic lesson in my room, however, before she had to return downstairs for the club opening.

After that, Melody, Jess, and I decided to just hang out in the common room with Lou, Sorcha, Carmen, and Selina. I had just sat down with them and was watching Selina and Sorcha playing dolls together when Carmen asked, “So, how’d things go today?”

“Well, Melody is apparently some kind of math genius, but has a lot of catching up to do otherwise, and me and Jess can get away with a fairly easy semester. I am so not looking forward to going to school though,” I said before letting out a long sigh.

“It’s not surprising, Sis, and I feel the same way,” Jess offered along with a side hug. “You and Mel haven’t been to a regular school in years, and I’ve never been to one. I grew up in the deep woods until you and Dad found me and by then I was already Manifested so we started home-schooling. I am looking forward to learning to better control my shapeshifting though, and you can get better with your Ice magic too.”

“Meh, I could do that at home, though I guess I’ll probably learn faster with proper lessons,” I replied with a half-hearted shrug. “I’m just not looking forward to spending five days a week at school all day. Sure, it’s supposed to be a safe space for Paranormals to learn, but I’ll have to wear clothes all day, and that and being around so many people is gonna make me all horny and distracted. It’s not like it even matters that it’s a school for girls when I’m attracted to almost everyone.”

“There’s the whole Salamander thing too,” Melody put in, echoing my worries from earlier. “I can probably get away with it since nobody is going to bat an eye at a half-Demon with tattoos, but having an almost identical tattoo to Crystal and Carmen? I mean, maybe we could have explained Crystal’s as a girlfriend thing, but Carmen is only fifteen so unless it’s a copycat thing…”

Carmen sighed as Melody trailed off, showing that she too had been worrying about this topic. “If only I were a real Divine Mage and not just limited to Healing and purification stuff. I still have no idea what to do when they eventually ask me to cast illusions and stuff.

That was when it hit me, and I wouldn’t have to actually lie about anything on my end if I had some selective truths prepared. “I… I think I’ve got it.”

“Got what, Sis?” Jessica inquired as my words caught the attention of my fellow brooding future students of St. Michelle’s.

I quickly began to explain my idea. I had originally gotten my Salamander mark due to peer pressure, which was technically true since Carmen had kind of pressured me into feeding Cinder when I was still uncertain by saying that we all do it at the same time. Melody had gotten her matching mark when we made our relationship official, which was also true because she got her mark during our first date. Since then, it had become a sort of bonding thing between us kids here at Pandora’s Box. Another truth since there was a kind of bonding involved and they did bring us closer by allowing us to communicate telepathically.

“Okay, that could work, but how are we going to explain why your twin sister doesn’t have one and Carmen was allowed to get one at such a young age?” Jess pointed out.

“What if Carmen doesn’t actually have one?” I asked with a grin. “Mom showed me how to make basic illusions, like the thing with my ears. What if we enchant Carmen’s mark with an illusion of nothing? Her mark would still show, but people who can sense magic would feel illusion magic in that spot and assume that the mark itself is the illusion. I would say cover it up using an illusion, but people who can sense magic would feel the spell and realize she’s hiding something. We could give Jess an actual illusion in the same spot to sell the story and sell Carmen as a Divine Mage.”

Melody looked intrigued by the idea but shook her head after a moment. “I don’t know, Babe; I can see two possible holes in this idea. First, what if someone asks Carmen to do the same for them? And second, you’re still just a beginner with this stuff. How are you going to do this?”

“The first is easy, the ‘Salamander mark’ is a family thing, and Carmen won’t do it for anyone else. She can also say that it’s the only illusion she’s managed to get somewhat decent at so far, if anyone asks. It’ll give her Divine Mage cred until we can come up with something later to fake her casting illusions on her own. And I might not be able to cast illusions like that yet, but Mom can.”

Carmen’s jaw practically hit the floor as she gaped at me and then that gape transformed into a grin that nearly matched mine. “That is so devious, Crystal, I love it!”

We filled Carmen’s mother in on the plan when she and Aislinn came to join us and watch some TV and she approved of the idea. So, when she and Aislinn went downstairs to get our dinners from the kitchen, I asked them to pass a message on to my mom that we needed to talk to her when she was able to take a break. Fortunately, the club wasn’t very busy tonight with it being Monday and the day after a holiday weekend and Mom came upstairs along with the pair to deliver our meals and hear out my plan.

Mom spent half an hour chilling with us as we discussed the plan and ate dinner together. By the time she returned downstairs, she had given Jess an illusory copy of my Salamander mark and imbued Carmen’s mark with enough Divine magic to make people believe that her mark was an illusion as well. She even gave similar illusions to Lou and Selina, in case we were all out together for some reason and needed to sell the story, though I think it was mostly because Selina was feeling kind of left out being the only girl without one. I mean, Sorcha was four and she had a mark.

The illusions would have to be renewed once a week or so, but Mom didn’t think that would be a problem and we could do it on Sundays while the whole family was relaxing and spending time together. With that done, and the story prepared, we were all feeling a little less worried about school the next day. I was still worried about being horny and distracted all day, but after I put Selina to bed, Melody and I called it a night early so she could help me to take care of my needs. It was at least two hours before we went to sleep.

I got up extra early for the first day of school so I could spend extra time in the shower sating and sexual urges that built up while I was sleeping. Fortunately, the pulse setting on my handheld showerhead was up to the task of giving me a few quick and satisfying orgasms before I stopped getting dirty and started working on getting clean. I was feeling so much more relaxed as I made my way through washing my hair and body.

I was a lot more comfortable in my morning routine now than I was when we first arrived in Edmonton and Jess started giving me her girl lessons two weeks ago. Soon, my white hair was brushed out until it shone, I was looking and smelling amazing, and I was dressed in my new school uniform. I didn’t really care for the uniform much though, and not just because wearing clothes in general was annoying and made my brain itch constantly.

How was I supposed to stand out while wearing the same outfit as every other girl in school? It didn’t even show off my assets very well either, except my legs. It didn’t matter that it was an all-girl school, there were probably going to be hot girls there and I’m a goddamn Nymph, my vanity would drive me crazy if I was anything other than the hottest girl there. Not to mention that all those other girls in school uniforms were probably going to make me horny.

The mere thought of all that was making me gloomy as I grabbed my purse, leather jacket, and backpack with my school stuff and went to see how Selina was doing before breakfast. She seemed to have everything under control since she was starting to get into a regular morning schedule, but we still had some time before breakfast, so I brushed her hair. With me at school all day and possibly working during the evenings once my birthday hit later this week, I felt that it was important to spend what time I could with her to let her know that she was still one of the highest priorities in my life.

Today Selina would be spending time with Sorcha, playing and keeping the four-year-old occupied while Mom, Pandora, and some of the other dancers looked after the pair and prepared to start homeschooling them. Hopefully, that would keep my Astrae daughter too preoccupied to miss me while I was at school. I was so glad that she seemed to be settling in and was getting more comfortable with the rest of our big Paranormal family. I was nervous enough without worrying about whether she would be okay while I was gone as well.

I wasn’t the only one who seemed to be nervous and dreading going to school while everyone ate breakfast together. Despite the plan that I came up with last night to deal with any salamander mark inquiries, my sister, girlfriend, and Carmen all seemed to be as nervous as I was. Only Lou seemed nonplussed about going to school today, but he had already been going to the boy’s school for over a year.

Those of us going to St. Michelle’s would be going there for the first time today and we all had our own little worries. Melody hadn’t been to school in like seven or eight years and was worried about being able to keep up. Carmen was still worried about what would happen if she had to do Divine magic other than healing and purification spells. Jess had never been to any kind of school before, and I was pretty sure she was as worried about fitting in as I was about my Nymph compulsions getting the better of me.

Eventually, we all finished our breakfast and had to leave though. The four of us grabbed our stuff, piled into my car, and were soon on our way to St. Michelle’s School for Girls. The drive there was quiet as a brooding silence hung over us, one that none of us seemed willing to break.

It wasn’t until we had pulled into the parking lot, and I turned the engine off, that I broke the silence as I rested my head on the steering wheel. “Okay, I can totally do this. I can stay focused and not think about how anxious this stupid uniform is making me feel or get distracted by sexy thoughts… all day long…” I sighed and smacked my forehead against the cherry wood steering wheel as I muttered, “I am so fucking screwed.” The irony of that statement was not lost on me.

“Cheer up, Babe,” Melody attempted to reassure me as she leaned over in the passenger side seat to put an arm around me. “You’ve got this. You’ve been doing just fine in public places until now.”

Yeah, I was doing just fine, if you didn’t count our first double date with Jess and Rose, when I almost lost control and got naked in the food court, and wanted to drag Melody off to a hotel before she helped me get control of myself again. Who was going to calm me down if I lost it in one of my classes? I had first and fifth period today where Melody, Jessica, and Rose weren’t in my classes and worry was already gnawing away at my mind alongside the mental discomfort of wearing clothes.

“Yeah, I’m a fucking pillar of self-control,” I muttered darkly. “It’s not helping that you look so hot in that uniform, Melody.”

“Try thinking of your sister,” my girlfriend suggested. “She’s wearing the same uniform.”

I took a deep breath, raised my head, and looked at Jessica in the rearview mirror and all thoughts of sex with a hot schoolgirl immediately evaporated. “Thanks, that was a good idea, sweetie. Jess is definitely not hot.”

“Hey! I’m sitting right here!” Jess protested in mock indignation.

“She also looks just like you, and you’re a freaking Nymph, Crystal. I’m straight as an arrow, and you make me question that sometimes,” Carmen contributed as she rolled her eyes at me in the mirror.

“Sister. Not hot,” I insisted. “At least not to me. She’s probably a total hottie to others because, as you pointed out, she looks just like me, but I am immune to her charms. You’re not hot either since you’re becoming like a kid sister to us. Good, now I just need to visualize one of you in your uniforms whenever I get turned on and need a mental cold shower.”

“Gee, thanks, Crystal. Glad to know we can help,” the Healer retorted as she stuck her tongue out at me.

The brief conversation managed to lighten our dark moods somewhat and we stepped out of the car to grab our things and headed toward the main school building, where Rose awaited us outside the main doors. After quickly introducing Carmen and my sister’s girlfriend, we all headed inside together. We didn’t have much time before the first bell was due to ring though, so we all had to hurry toward our lockers as we tried to ignore the obvious whispering about the new girls.

Thankfully, my locker was right between Melody’s and my sister’s, and Rose’s wasn’t too far down the hall. Carmen’s locker was almost on the opposite end of the main hallway though, so we had to part ways with her fairly quickly and then part ways with one another when the bell rang since we all had different classes for the first period.

My heart was in my throat as I made my way back outside and toward one of the two side buildings, where the auto shop, metalworking, and woodworking shops were. The other outer building was supposed to contain the swimming pool according to the maps we’d been given. I managed to find the auto shop without too much trouble and saw six girls from various grade levels already leaning against tool benches or seated on tall stools like those we had in the club.

This wasn’t too surprising since Headmistress Collins warned me that this wasn’t a popular class. There were so few girls wanting to take it that only one class was offered a year, and it consisted of students from grade eight right up to grade twelve. There was also a middle-aged Dwarf woman in the room who I assumed must be our teacher, Mrs. Svenson, who was also the school’s metalworking teacher.

It felt like every eye in the room was on me as soon as I stepped inside, just as the bell rang, and I tried not to let it bother me while I found a stool and swept my skirt under me as I took a seat. “Oh, you must be the new student I was told about,” the Dwarf said with a friendly smile. “Why don’t you introduce yourself, and tell us a little bit about yourself?”

I tried not to groan audibly as all eyes were once again upon me. Instead, I took a deep breath to center myself and stood up again to do as I was asked in my chirpy little voice. “Umm… hi. I’m Crystal. I’m a Snow Nymph, I’ll be turning eighteen soon, and I just Manifested before Christmas so when my sister and I came here to live with Mom, she decided to send us here.”

If I thought their attention was on me before, it was even worse after I admitted to being a Nymph. The girls started shouting questions all at once and Mrs. Svenson had to give a sharp whistle to get everyone to quiet down. “Now, girls, let’s not overwhelm her in her first class here. We’re here so you can learn to maintain and repair your vehicles and about auto mechanics in general, not about Nymphs. Most of you were in my class last year and have an interest in automotive mechanics. Nova and Crystal, you’re both new to this class, so what brings you here? Do you have any experience with this sort of thing?”

Nova looked to be young, probably in her first year of high school. She was almost as pale as I was with dark blue hair, a slight and fit build, and aquamarine scales around her hairline, along the outer edges of her neck, and peeking out from under the sleeves of her blazer. She was likely a Nereid; the myths often confused them with Water Nymphs.

They weren’t really Nymphs though, or even remotely related to us. Hell, they weren’t even one of the Fey cousin species. They were supposed to be very good at water magic though. Still, I could see her still glancing in interest at me for a moment before replying to the teacher first in an accented voice. “I don’t really know much about cars, but when we still lived in Crete, I used to help my dad work on boats. I want to get a car when I’m old enough so I thought I should know more about them in case it breaks down.”

“Before Dad died and I Manifested, we used to work on cars and motorcycles together,” I said with a sigh as it made me think of Dad. “It was kind of our thing. We rebuilt his old bike together and I inherited his 1970 Dodge Charger R/T, so I’ve been tinkering with that when I can, but mostly just basic stuff since it’s in good shape.” They didn’t need to know about the NOS injection system or the other recent installations that Lou and I had made under his uncle’s supervision.

There were keen looks of interest and a couple of whistles of appreciation when I mentioned the Charger and I found myself smiling. Yup, these girls were gearheads, they were my kind of people if the barrage of questions and requests to check under my hood were any indication. It took a few minutes for Mrs. Svenson to get the class back under control.

Sadly, we weren’t able to do any tinkering during that first class since Mrs. Svenson wanted to go over the class rules, make sure that Nova and I knew where all of the tools and stuff were kept, and discuss what we would be doing this semester. Once she was done going over the rules and showing us where things were, Mrs. Svenson cleared her throat and called out, “Attention, girls! Let’s talk about your class projects for the semester!”

The class chatter immediately ceased, and she had our undivided attention as she explained, “For this year’s class projects, we’ll be doing something different since you all either already know your way around an engine or have related skills. Since tomorrow our class will fall before the lunch break, we will be going on a little field trip to a local wrecking yard run by a friend of mine. While we are there, each of you will choose a project vehicle to work on this semester. Once you have chosen your project, you will each be given a budget for parts from the wrecking yard to get it in working order. You can put your own money into it as well if you want since these projects will be yours to keep at the end of the year.”

Squeals of excitement erupted through the shop as one of the other girls, asked, “What if we already have a car?” She looked to be around my age with long, dark brown hair and a darkly tanned complexion. She was also mostly human-looking, except for the doe-like ears and the fact that her lack of footwear showed that she had hooves instead of human feet.

“I know that a couple of you already have cars of your own, Clarice, but this will be a good project for you and if you can’t use the car yourself, then once it’s in good working order you can either sell it or give it to someone in need of a working vehicle.”

I was still trying to figure out what I might want to do for my project as I made my way to the second class of the day, Home Economics, a class that I thankfully shared with my sister. It would depend on what I could find that was interesting, but I was considering either working on a new motorcycle for myself or maybe a vehicle for Jess. It would be nice for her to have her own car so she and Rose wouldn’t have to borrow someone else’s whenever they wanted to go out on a date.

The looks we got when we entered the classroom together were priceless. It was even better when the teacher had us introduce ourselves and we responded in twin-speak. All that practice we’d been doing was well worth the looks on their faces. It was too bad that Jess was still having trouble shifting her ears or it would have been perfect.

It was mostly another introductory class, going over the syllabus for the semester, learning where everything was, and choosing partners and workstations. That last part was easy, we chose each other. The only thing that really concerned me was the dirty looks we were getting from one of the other girls.

She looked completely human, which probably meant that she was some sort of Mage since we were all encouraged to be ourselves while at school and not hide our Paranormal heritage. Still, she was very pretty for a human, probably one of the prettiest girls I had seen yet at the school, with her long blonde hair, delicate features, and big blue eyes. She had a very nice figure and long legs too, and I had to start picturing my sister to calm myself down until I realized that those nasty looks were directed at Jess and me. She was nowhere close to being as pretty as me, of course, and I was almost certain that was the reason for those looks.

I tried to ignore her and silently hoped that this wasn’t going to be trouble later as Jess and I started looking through our textbooks. Apparently, we would be starting the semester with cooking and baking, and then we would have a unit on budgeting and basic finances before finishing up the year with a section on sewing and dressmaking. I was actually looking forward to learning to cook and bake after the fun we’d had on Christmas Eve, but I wasn’t sure if I was all that interested in the rest of it. Jess was probably going to have to help keep me focused on this class.

Then came the class that we were dreading the most, Physical Education. At least Rose and Melody were both there to join us for that class, but the changing room was sheer torture with girls in various states of undress all around me. At least it briefly got me out of all those clothes, except for the underwear, before I had to change into my gym clothes. I got undressed in record time and was almost relieved by the distraction when the inevitable happened.

“Holy crap! Is that a tattoo?! How did you get your parents to let you get one?!” This came from someone that I recognized from my auto shop class, Clarice. The one with the car.

“I didn’t,” I replied as casually as I could as I kept the selective truths I had prepared in mind. “A friend pressured me into it when Mom wasn’t around, not long after I Manifested, and she was pissed about me doing it.”

“Hey! The Demon girl has one too,” another girl announced.

“Half Demon,” Melody clarified with an edge to her voice. “I got it to match Crystal’s when we made our relationship official.”

“Relationship?! She’s a Nymph though, how’s that even work, they’re all…”

“Do not finish that sentence, you racist bitch,” Rose all but snarled at the speaker in my defense as she cut her off. Okay, she was really channeling her murder bunny persona there and I was a little surprised that she would come to my defense like that.

“Yeah,” Jess quickly added. “My sister just Manifested a few weeks ago, and she can’t help her needs and compulsions any more than any other Paranormal can, but at least she can control herself. Maybe you should learn to do the same before you piss off the wrong person. Frankly, the specifics of their relationship is none of your business.”

I turned toward my sister to see who the pair of Púca were berating and, oh wonderful, it was the glaring girl from Home Ec. The girl finished dressing in a huff and stormed out of the changing room. I was starting to get my gym clothes on when my sister and Rose approached and Jess asked, “You okay, Sis? I know how much you hate it when people assume things because you’re a Nymph.”

“I’m fine, thanks, Jess… and thanks to you too, Rose,” I replied, giving them both a weak smile before getting my gym shirt on.

“I’ve gotten to know you well enough to know you work hard to keep yourself under control. You’re a good person, you don’t deserve that shit,” my sister’s girlfriend replied. “And I won’t let anyone screw with my friends.” I was a little touched by that sentiment coming from her.

“You girls will want to watch out for her,” Clarice warned us. “Delilah thinks she’s the Queen Bee of this school and she and her friends won’t like being upstaged.”

“Do I even want to know what her problem is?” I asked with a sigh.

The deer girl shrugged her shoulders. “In a word, narcissism. Probably bad parenting too. She comes from a long line of Fire Mages who used to be big shots in the local Paranormal scene. They aren’t so important anymore, but her parents are still rich assholes, and they spoil her rotten.”

“We Nymphs might have a narcissistic streak a mile wide, but at least I try not to be an asshole about it. I don’t judge others based on their species without getting to know them first either,” I grumbled.

We ended up playing Volleyball for P.E. and since Delilah was one of the captains choosing the teams, everyone in my group ended up on the opposite team. My sister and Rose both proved to be very good at the game with their superior bunny-jumping abilities. Melody had to rein in her strength though so she wouldn’t accidentally hurt anyone. I did okay, but I got some bruises out of it that I just knew were going to bother me all day until I could get home and cast a healing spell on them.

My group ended up eating lunch with Clarice and the other girls from the auto shop class. They usually all hung out together at lunch since last year Delilah and her friends decided that they were some sort of social misfits for being into tinkering with greasy engines. They made sure that the rest of the girls in school knew it too.

Even Nova, the youngest of us, showed up to join us after the couple of ‘friends’ she had made in the first semester wanted nothing to do with one of the grease monkeys for fear of drawing Delilah’s gaze upon them. Nova and Carmen seemed to hit it off though, so I was hoping the pair could become friends. Besides Nova and Clarice, there was Trixie, Bella, Nikki, and Alison.

Trixie was in the same grade as me and Clarice, tall, and slender with short blonde hair and green eyes, and pointed ears. She said that she was half Fey on her mother’s side, but you would never know she was half-human since she seemed to have inherited the looks, the Fey quirks, and a proficiency with Wood magic from her mother. She also seemed to have that Fey fondness for their cousin species that was on full display where my sister, Rose, and I were concerned. You would have thought we were all long-lost family members of hers.

Then there was Bella, she was a redheaded spitfire, who took shit from nobody. Every time that she noticed Delilah and her friends glaring our way she gave them the finger. I liked her. She was fifteen, the same age as Carmen, and came from a family of Normies. She had manifested as a Metal mage over the summer and the PDA had to get involved when she couldn’t control her magic and made a huge scene that had to be covered up. They filled her and her parents in on the Paranormal secret and got her a scholarship to come to St. Michelle’s to learn to control her magic.

Nikki was a pretty sixteen-year-old Mermaid with lavender hair and silver eyes who was a little shy with me, my sister, and my friends at first. Once she found out that we were used to speaking to Mermaids and personally considered two of her kind family though, she lost her reluctance to speak with us mentally. She also seemed to be taking Nova under her wing since they both came from species that spent a lot of time underwater but shared an interest in mechanics.

Alison was the last of the group, and she was in grade eleven and actually related to someone that we knew. Her mother was Heather, the Glaistig who owned and ran Shear Bliss. She looked a lot like her mother with her brown eyes, long blonde hair, and fair skin, not to mention the hooves. Where her mother loved making people look their best though, Alison wanted to work on cars.

The gearheads among us were talking about cars and our upcoming project when Clarice said, “We should all hang out after school. It’s the first day so we probably won’t get any homework today. My mom and dad own a café downtown, we could all go hang out there since they won’t be busy until dinner rush. You gotta show us the Charger, Crystal!”

I was tempted. These seemed like nice girls, and we had the car thing in common. Rose, Melody, Carmen, and my sister all seemed to like them too. I sighed and shook my head. “I would, but I really should go straight home to check on my daughter. She’s a little clingy and isn’t used to me being gone for school all day.

“Daughter!?” six voices seemed to scream at once as they all gaped at me.

I facepalmed while Melody explained. “Crystal kind of discovered a new species of Paranormal. She was attacked, and we stepped in to help, but she sort of imprinted on Crystal and sees her as her mother now. It probably has something to do with the trauma and the fact that she can’t remember her past very well.” It was a slight twisting of the truth, but it matched the official story we gave the PDA.

“Yeah, her memory is shot, she has nowhere else to go, and she sees me as her mother, so I couldn’t just abandon her. She’s thirteen, so we’re hoping she can attend here next year once I’ve graduated and can start working full-time at the club.” I said with a shrug.

We were trying to be as open with them as we could without revealing any family secrets, so they already knew where we lived and that I was considering being a dancer. They hadn’t judged me for it either. As Bella said, I needed to do what was right for me and, if it made me happy, fuck anyone who thought differently.

“Bring her along. If she’s thirteen then she’s only a year younger than Nova, so she wouldn’t be that out of place,” Trixie said.

~She would know some people here when she starts school next year too.~ Nikki added.

I looked up at the clock on the cafeteria wall, noting that it was almost time to head to our next classes. Lunch had flown by and having people to talk to who shared my interests had helped keep my libido under control too. “I’ll think about it and let you know after school,” I promised them. “Melody and I need to get to magic class, that’s the whole reason I’m here.”

“Clarice and I have that this period too, we’ll show you the way,” Trixie offered cheerfully as we all stood up to head to our respective classes.

Magic class was held in the auditorium, at least the first part of the session, and it was different than most other classes. There was one magic class offered per semester and it was to give an introduction to how to use and properly control the magic of our elements. Basically, it was a class for beginners to teach the fundamentals and get us off to a good start in exploring our magic. As such, most students only needed to take it once and the class was open to students of any grade who hadn’t taken it before.

There weren’t very many seniors in the class, basically only me, Melody, Trixie, Clarice, and one other girl with catlike ears and a pair of feline tails. While the class was a requirement for any students who had the ability to use magic, most seniors who actually needed the class took it in their first year at St. Michelle’s. Melody and I were both new here though and Clarisse and Trixie had both already learned the basics of their magic, Earth and Wood respectively, from their mothers and didn’t think they even needed the class. For them, this class was going to be mostly review and the teachers trying to get them out of any bad habits they had picked up.

Thankfully, Carmen seemed to be in this class as well, though she was looking nervous as she joined me, Melody, and our new friends. Maybe we could find some way for me to help her with casting illusions, sealing spells, and anything else that she couldn’t do as a Healer but would be expected of a Divine Mage. Fooling a teacher with experience in Divine magic would be no easy task though.

There were nine teachers in the class, almost one to teach each element and they came from a wide variety of Paranormal species, including a pair of human Mages. There was even a Dryad, which made me smile since the Wood-aligned women with bark-like skin and foliage for hair are closely related to Nymphs and share some of our quirks. She seemed to be the one in charge as she called for the attention of nearly forty students in the room who were chattering and making quite a bit of noise.

“Greetings, students, and welcome to Magic 101. I am Mrs. Grover, and the nine of us will be your teachers for this class. Each of us will read out a list of names. When called, please follow your teacher to their workroom, where you will be attending this class after today,” she instructed before turning her gaze directly onto me. “Unfortunately, Ms. Cummings, our teacher for Ice Magic is on maternity leave for this semester and we were not expecting any students aligned to Ice to be taking the class until the last minute, but Ms. Norstrom will take you in hand.”

I squirmed as I was put on the spot like that and did my best to remain casual as we waited to be called. I guess they were working on the smallest groups first as what looked like a woman with at least a little Demon blood (probably half or a quarter Demon and the rest human) introduced herself as Ms. Ellis, the teacher for Death Magic. It didn’t take her long to call up her class, since there was only Melody and a dark-haired human girl who looked like she might be in grade eight or nine.

I wasn’t too surprised since primary element users were fairly uncommon and most of those who really needed the class probably took it in the first semester or an earlier grade. The fact that most of the class seemed to be made up of grade eight and nine students seemed to support this. The headmistress seemed to think it was a good idea for my girlfriend to learn to use Death magic too since we weren’t hiding her dual alignment, and she already had a grasp on Fire magic. Melody wasn’t looking forward to it, but my mother, Aunt Merry, and the headmistress had managed to convince her that it would be wise to at least have some knowledge of how Death magic worked.

Next up was Ms. Norstrom, a tall, muscular, and beautiful blonde woman with large, white feathered wings. Her eyes had been on Carmen and me since we entered the room as if she already knew who we were and could easily pick us out in a group of forty students. She only called the two of us, and I couldn’t believe our luck as the Angel beckoned us to follow and we parted with our new friends.

I was lost in my thoughts as we followed the Angel through the hallways. While Carmen and I were very lucky to have the same teacher and be the only two students, I couldn’t help but worry that this teacher wasn’t going to be easy to fool into thinking Carmen was a proper Divine Mage. The way that she had been watching the two of us while we waited for our names to be called was unnerving, it was like she was looking right into our souls.

She seemed stiff and, as we followed her to her magic workshop, I was starting to get a little nervous. I had met an Angel before, Braedan, who owned and operated a clothing store geared toward Paranormal teens called Cloud Nine. While he had been helpful while we were shopping there, I got the distinct feeling that he disapproved of my public displays of affection with Melody, not to mention the fact that my girlfriend was half Demon. He had been handsome but there was a very large stick lodged somewhere deeply and firmly in his behind.

I didn’t want to believe that all Angels were like that, but the way Ms. Norstrom had been watching me and Carmen so intently wasn’t exactly encouraging. As we walked, Carmen and I were too nervous to say much, we didn’t even talk privately along the Salamander network. Once we were inside the workroom, Ms. Norstrom sat casually on top of her desk rather than in the chair behind it and motioned for Carmen and me to take a seat at one of the nine worktables in the room, the one directly in front of her desk.

There was a long awkward silence before the teacher asked, “Since you were standing near one another in the auditorium, I take it that you know one another already?” Her voice held a definite Scandinavian accent, and it didn’t sound like she was being judgmental or anything.

I would have breathed a sigh of relief, but the tense atmosphere hadn’t completely dissipated yet. Instead, I looked at Carmen and took a deep breath before speaking for us both. “Yes, Ma’am, we’re like sisters. We both live above the club that my mother and her partner own.”

“Ah yes, Pandora’s Box, the adult entertainment club,” she replied with a thoughtful nod. It was a mere statement of fact, not nearly as derisive in tone as I had been fearing. Then she gave us both a smile as she let out a sigh of relief. “Well, I guess that will make this a lot easier for all of us then since I assume that you know one another’s secrets already, given the nervous glances you have been casting toward one another.”

“W-what? Secrets?” Carmen stammered. I could hear her swallowing a lump in her throat without even looking at her.

This was met with another smile, one that reached the teacher’s eyes and seemed to radiate kindness. “Please, Miss Diaz, do not take me for a fool. I am a Divine elemental; I can see the nature of the divine better than any mere mortal can ever conceive of. You are no Divine Mage, your connection to the element is powerful but extremely focused. I would assume that you are a Healer, a rare gift.” Again, it was a statement of fact, not an accusation.

“What… ummm… I…” Carmen sputtered in shock as she tried to come up with something to counter the statement.

Then Ms. Norstrom turned her attention toward me. “As for you, Miss Cummings, dual alignments are rare, usually the result of specific bloodlines, but I have never heard of them happening in Nymphs… or should I say Muses?” I couldn’t speak, all the words seemed to just stop before leaving my throat as a whirlwind of anxiety took residence within my chest.

“Please, calm yourselves,” the Angel told us gently. “You are wise to keep your true natures a secret and I will not reveal what either of you are to anyone, not even Headmistress Collins. You have my word. Guard your secrets closely, children, lest someone use them against you. It is fortunate that I only have the two of you to worry about in this class. If it had not been for that, I would have approached you both privately about this matter, and probably had you work as lab partners so Miss Cummings could help make the other students believe that you are a true Divine Mage, Miss Diaz.”

That would have been my plan as well, and I looked at the Angel suspiciously. “You’ve known what we are since you first saw us in the auditorium, haven’t you?”

“Yes,” she replied with that steady smile. “Though the plan already was, and still is, for me to instruct you in your Ice magic, what with our usual teacher for that away for the remainder of the school year. I have a… history with the Ice element and should be able to teach you to use both of your elements adequately. For this first class though, I think that we should all get to know one another better, and you can tell me what you both hope to get out of this class.”

“You seem more… well, chill than I would have expected,” Carmen pointed out as we both relaxed somewhat in our seats.

“Yeah, you’re not a dick, like some other Angels I’ve met,” I added candidly, hoping to get a reaction out of her.

I did get a reaction, but not the one I was expecting. Ms. Norstrom started laughing and it took a few minutes for her to calm herself down before she could talk again. “Oh, you have no idea, but since I know your secrets, maybe I should tell you one of mine. I am not an Angel, I am a Valkyrie, and we hold no love for our male counterparts. They were arrogant and sanctimonious when we left them thousands of years ago, and they have not improved in the millennia since.”

“A Valkyrie?” Carmen asked in confusion.

“Yes, that is what we called ourselves, though I fear that I may now be the last of my kind,” she explained. “I was barely old enough to begin warrior training when our village mobilized to assist the Aesir in stopping the Frost Giants from invading this plane. We drove them back to the Frozen Plane, but I was trapped on the other side when we closed their portal for good. They far outnumbered us and were terrifying creatures, and when the battle was over, all my people lay dead. I assume they thought me dead as well.”

The Valkyrie told us her story then. How she had crawled from the battlefield through ice and snow to find a cave. She spent hundreds of years on the Frozen Plane, all alone, first healing her injuries and then staying hidden from her enemies as she trained her skills and magic. Eventually, she formed a strong enough connection to the Divine to travel to the Holy Plane, and from there back to the Material Plane and the place where her village once stood,

That was a little over thirty years ago. When she returned there was no sign of her village or her people. Half a dozen of them had stayed behind on our plane to close the Frost Giants’ portal, but she had no idea what might have happened to them in the centuries since. So, she wandered in a world that was far different than the one she remembered and followed rumors until she ended up in Canada and eventually found a job teaching Divine magic at St. Michelle’s.

She wouldn’t tell us anything about her people, other than what they called themselves, or what other Paranormal abilities she possessed, but from what little she had told us, I was a little in awe. This woman had survived in a hostile environment for hundreds of years. Not only that, but she had been to two of the most dangerous elemental planes, the two that I was aligned to, and my mother made me swear to never go to. She had also developed a lot of tricks with Ice magic during that time.

For the rest of our class, Ms. Norstrom, Carmen, and I talked about what she would be teaching each of us and what we hoped to get out of the class. Carmen in particular seemed to grow a lot more relaxed the more that we talked. She had been so worried about magic class and having to fake being a Divine Mage that her mood had improved greatly by the time we left for our next classes.

Thankfully, my next class wasn’t too far away, and I made it to the Art classroom as Jessica and Rose were leaving. They had just finished their Art class and were now on their way to their Shapeshifting class, which Melody would be attending as well. I was a little nervous about this class since it was my last class today and I wouldn’t have my sister or either of our girlfriends with me. I had been able to mostly suppress the urges to get naked and the sexual desire that had been steadily growing since the start of lunch so far, but I had caught my thoughts drifting toward the end of Magic class, and being nervous wasn’t going to help.

I soon discovered that none of the girls from my Auto Shop class were in this class with me either. In fact, there was only one face that I recognized, and that was Delilah. I made certain to sit as far away from her as possible.

Our Art teacher, Mrs. Bealey, was a Lamia, and as soon as she finished taking roll call, she started talking about the wonders of creativity and artistic expression. She asked if anyone did anything artistic in their spare time and while I could have talked about dancing, I didn’t bring it up because I didn’t want to give Delilah any ammunition to use against me. Not that it mattered since she seemed to be ready to create her own opportunities.

“Okay, class, so today we’re going to start with drawing. Would one of you like to volunteer to be our model for today?” Mrs. Bealey asked after her speech about the joys of art.

“Maybe we should let the new girl pose for us, Mrs. Bealey,” Delilah suggested far too sweetly as she glared daggers at me.

“That’s a great idea. Don’t be shy, Crystal, just come have a seat here on this stool and find a comfortable pose that you can hold for a while,” the teacher instructed me cheerfully.

I glared daggers right back at the bitch who had suggested it as I got to my feet. It wasn’t that I was uncomfortable with the idea of modeling for the class since we Nymphs are vain as all hell and have zero sense of modesty. No, I was far more concerned about where my thoughts were going to end up going if I didn’t have some sort of distraction to keep both my hands and mind occupied.

As soon as I was walking past her toward the stool at the front, Delilah hissed, “Oh, and Crystal, this is the kind of posing where we keep our clothes on.”

I gritted my teeth and tried not to let her little barbs get to me as I got comfortable on the stool and found a comfortable and modest position to sit in. Posing was as difficult as I thought it was going to be. Without something to keep my hands and mind occupied with, I found myself constantly having to push down my desire to get out of my uncomfortable clothes, and my increasing horniness was making it hard to sit still or keep my mind from wandering.

Talking with Cinder and giving her some mental affection helped for the first half of class but inevitably I was lost in my very dirty thoughts when a voice drew me back to reality. “…stal. I said that class is almost over, you can go back to your seat. I have an assignment to hand out before you all leave for the day.”

“Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts,” I mumbled as I stood up and tried to clear my thoughts of sexy times with Melody.

“Yeah, I think we all know where the Nymph’s thoughts were,” Delilah said with a sneer, causing the bootlickers sitting near her to laugh.

I wasn’t sure if I was angrier that she went there, or that she was actually right. Apparently, the only thing she had learned earlier in the changing room about compulsion shaming was to not do it near the angry bunnies. I took a deep breath to control myself as I turned to smile at her while I passed her seat, “Oh, don’t worry, Delilah, if I did have fantasies, you certainly didn’t feature in them. I may be horny and attracted to anything with a pulse, but I’m not desperate.”

“Bitch,” she muttered under her breath.

I stopped and turned toward her and whispered back, “It takes one to know one.” Then I got a good look at her sketchpad, and whatever she was drawing, it wasn’t me. It looked like a cow, but I’m only guessing here since she had, like, zero artistic talent. If that cartoon caricature was supposed to be me, my boobs should have been much bigger than that. Before turning to return to my seat I delivered my parting shot. “And I thought we Nymphs were vain, it wasn’t supposed to be a self-portrait, Delilah.”

When I got back to my seat, she was fuming in hers. She still looked like a teapot ready to boil over once we had collected our assignments for the week and the bell rang to dismiss us for the day.

I was halfway back to my locker when Jess, Rose, and Melody met up with me. “Is there some reason you’ve got a very angry-looking Fire Mage glaring daggers at your back, Babe?” my girlfriend asked.

“Oh, you know, we had Art class together and she tried to humiliate me, but she forgot that I’d need a sense of modesty to get embarrassed at things like wanting to get naked or thinking about sex,” I replied with a casual shrug.

“The bitch didn’t learn anything earlier,” my sister grumbled. “I hope she’s glaring because you got her back, Sis.”

I turned to grin at her and Rose as Melody came to my other side and wrapped an arm protectively around my shoulders. “You know what Aunt Merry always says, Sis. A Fey always pays their debts.”

“Let’s just be careful around her from now on, okay, Babe?” Melody’s voice sounded concerned as she said that, and then quickly added, “I’m worried that she might try something more than words if she thinks you’re a threat to her little high school queendom.”

“That’s why I have my sexy bodyguard with me,” I replied sweetly. I too was worried that Delilah might try something more than insults eventually though.

The other girls from Auto Shop were all waiting for us at the front doors of the school by the time Carmen joined us, and we had all gathered our things to leave for the day. Clarice was the one to ask, “So, are you guys going to come hang with us at my parents’ café?”

“And when can we see the Charger?!” Nova asked eagerly as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

“Yeah, we’ll come hang out a bit, if the others are cool with it,” I agreed. “I’ll need to go pick up Selina first though, so if I can get an address for my GPS that would be great. As for the Charger, it’s right here in the parking lot.”

As we crossed the parking lot to where the Charger was parked, we made plans. Rose was only working weekends now that school had started up, so even she was able to come, as long as she could get a ride there and home. It turned out that Alison didn’t live too far from my sister’s girlfriend though and offered to give her and Bella a ride while Clarice drove Nova, Trixie, and Nikki.

Once my new gearhead friends had gotten their fill of looking under the hood of my baby, Clarice wrote down the address of the café for me and Alison and we all split up with plans to meet there as soon as we could. Once my sister, girlfriend, and Carmen all climbed into the car with me and we were on our way, Jessica let out a long sigh. “Well, that was an interesting first day at school.”

“Yeah, it certainly had its ups and downs,” I agreed. “At least we’ve made some new friends though.” Unspoken was the fact that we had probably made at least one enemy as well.

“It seems like our Salamander deception is working too,” Carmen added. “I had, like, ten people today ask me about creating illusion tattoos for them, but I kept to the script. I am, like, so relieved that Crystal and I have our magic class together though, and the lady who is teaching us is really cool.”

“She kinda saw right through us both though, just like Ashe,” I reminded her as we turned off the access road and onto the main street. “She promised to keep our secret though, and I think her word is good. I think we can both learn a lot from her too.”

“I’m worried about that Delilah bitch though,” my sister grumbled. “Those looks that she was giving us during Home Ec and P.E. were nasty. I didn’t think she could look more pissed off until I saw the glares she was giving you after classes, Sis. She is not going to let this go and Mel won’t be there to watch our backs every class.”

“Yeah, I’ll think about what to do about it, Jess, but I doubt trying to keep a low profile is gonna work. She’s vainer than I am, and that’s saying something. Do me a favor please and call Selina to tell her to get ready to go out. I’d like us all to have some fun with our new friends tonight, while we still have our evenings mostly free. We can worry about Delilah later.”

After picking up Selina at the club, we followed my GPS to find the café that Clarice’s parents owned as I worried about how to introduce my thirteen-year-old daughter to my new friends. It wasn’t that I was ashamed of her, didn’t trust them, or anything like that, and they had been pretty cool with the idea of me having said daughter when we explained it. That being said, there were reasons for me to be worried about this.

The first reason was that Selina was skittish around people that she didn’t know well and, while she was starting to settle in and seemed a lot more comfortable with the members of our odd family, strangers still tended to make her shy away. Not that I could blame her after what she had been through before we found her, and I accidentally turned her into some new type of Paranormal. Just the beating and attempted murder that she had gone through at the hands of those assholes would have been enough to justify those feelings, even without the apparent trauma that her birth family had put the poor girl through while growing up.

Reason number two was that we had secrets that needed to be kept and, while I liked and had a lot in common with these girls, I was concerned that while we were trying to get to know one another better they could ask probing questions that might seem innocent enough on the surface but be a big problem. Melody was a Demon and could lie her ass off if needed, and my sister and Rose were both actresses, but Selina and I were still getting used to telling selective truths since we Fey can’t outright lie. Maybe taking Drama class with Melody, Jess, and Rose wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

We hadn’t even known these girls for an entire day yet, no matter how much I seemed to gel with them so far. They didn’t balk at me being a Nymph, planning on becoming a stripper, or having a daughter, but Carmen and I both needed to keep our true natures and the Salamanders secret, to keep ourselves and the people we cared about safe, and that extended to Selina as well. My daughter was unique though, the only one of her kind so far, and that was bound to raise questions.

I tried to put those worries out of my mind as we parked on the street outside of the Whitetail Café. Like most Paranormal businesses the building was covered with Divine magic to make the normies ignore it and to make it look like the building was condemned or abandoned along with a bit of graffiti that marked it as a restaurant for Paranormals. I tried not to let my worries show as we all climbed out of the Charger and made our way inside the café.

The inside of the café was decorated in brown and cream colors with brass fixtures and a gleaming tiled floor in a chocolate and cream checkerboard pattern. Overall, the place had a warm, cozy, and inviting atmosphere. Customers could sit in large booths at the back of the café, at tables near the windows, or on barstools at the counter, where a woman who greatly resembled Clarice (deer-like ears and hooves included) had just grabbed a steaming coffee pot and was heading toward one of the window tables.

“I’ve got your refill right here, Charlie,” the woman who I assumed was Clarice’s mother cheerfully called as my group stepped inside and she headed toward one of the window tables to provide said refill to an elderly Satyr. She turned her bright and infectious smile on us after completing her task. “You girls must be the other new friends that Clarice mentioned. She and the others have claimed a couple of the big private booths in the back, so just follow me to join them. And no need for glamours or disguises here, girls, feel free to be yourselves.”

“Thanks, Ma’am,” I replied with a smile, nodding to Selina that it was okay to drop her glamour as Jess removed her wool cap and my girlfriend switched to her natural, half-Demon form. Then, figuring that it would only be polite to introduce ourselves to our new friend’s mother, I added, “I’m Crystal, and this is Melody, Jessica, Selina, and Carmen.”

My daughter earned a curious look as she removed her glamour and her coat, and her wings came free and began to nervously twitch. Thankfully, Clarice’s mother didn’t seem to want to hound the poor girl who was half-hiding behind me with questions as she led us to the booths in question. “Hey, girls,” Jess called out with a wave as we approached.

I took a deep breath and attempted to be casual as I greeted them as well. “Hey, everyone. So, this is my daughter, Selina.”

The poor Astrae was clinging to my arm and still not sure whether she should hide completely behind me or not as she stammered, “H-h-hello.”

Everyone’s gaze was suddenly on my daughter, except for Clarice’s mother, who was now giving me a confused look. Nova all but squealed in delight, “She’s so pretty! I’ve never seen a Paranormal like her before!”

The girls looked like they had a barrage of questions prepared, but thankfully, Melody took charge. “Like I said earlier today, we don’t really know much about her kind yet, other than they imprint on a mother figure, like she did with Crystal. She doesn’t remember much before we jumped in to help when she was being attacked. Most of the memories she does seem to have before that are traumatic and not anything that could help us figure out more about her kind anyway.”

“My mom is a doctor who specializes in Paranormals, and she thinks Selina might be some kind of Nymph variant since she seems to be growing into that general body type and has some of their more minor quirks. Heck, she’s probably a Mixed and the only one of her kind,” Carmen added, much to my relief.

Saying she was a Mixed was a really good idea, and I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t thought of it earlier. Mixed Paranormals happen very rarely, as the result of two different types of Paranormals having a child together and the bloodlines, and/or curses, mixing in unexpected ways to create a new type of Paranormal altogether. Almost a quarter of Mixed are born Manifested and they can have all sorts of complications, physical deformities, or new abilities from the blending of the different physiologies and inherent magical qualities of their parents.

Clarice’s mother’s expression became sympathetic as she tried to assure my daughter, “Don’t worry, sweetie, you’ll be safe here, and it looks like you’ve found some good people who care about you. If you girls want anything to drink, just let Clarice know.” Then she left us to socialize on our own and get back to work. The café wasn’t very busy but there was always work to be done in places like this.

Still, Selina was tightly gripping my arm and not very comfortable with being the center of attention. ~Don’t worry, Selina, we don’t bite,~ Nikki assured her gently. ~We just want to get to know you better and I thought it might be a good idea for you to make some friends at St. Michelle’s before you start attending next year, other than Carmen. Nova, Bella, Alison, and I will all be there with the two of you next year.~

“Nova is only a year older than you and she doesn’t really have any friends in her grade now,” Trixie added.

The Nereid in question nodded sadly in confirmation. “Yeah, I thought I had friends last semester, but they all dropped me as soon as they found out I was taking Auto Shop this semester. That witch Delilah has the whole school turned against us.”

“Hey now, let’s not insult Witches, they wouldn’t want to be associated with that flaming bitch,” Alison pointed out cheerfully, getting a good laugh out of us all.

We all got seated in the booth where Rose had been sitting alone, though it was close enough to easily hold a conversation between the two tables. For an hour we just talked about school, what we all wanted to do once we graduated, and various other mundane topics as we all got to know one another better. Selina even started to relax a bit more, and it seemed that Nova and Bella were both trying to help with that as they tried to get her to take Auto Shop with them next year when it was offered.

Clarice got drinks for all of us after finding out what we wanted. It didn’t take long before she was back, bearing trays with our drinks, and we discovered that she was really coordinated, handling two trays and not spilling a drop. “You’re pretty good at that,” Rose commented. “Do you work here? I work at my aunt’s shoe store in the mall for spending money and stuff.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve been waiting tables here since I turned fourteen,” Clarice replied with a shrug. “It helped me to save up the money to buy and repair my car last year. I’m kinda attached to the old beater now after working so hard for it. I have no idea what I’m going to do with my project car for class when it’s finished. Anyone want a car?” The last was laughed with a laugh.

“I’ll take it,” Jess quickly replied. “I’ve been thinking about getting a car of my own anyway, so I don’t have to rely on Crystal to drive me everywhere. I have more than enough money for my education set aside, and I’ll be getting my bartending license after my birthday. If you need parts outside of the budget, I could pay for them.”

“Sure, we could do that! Do you have any preferences for makes or models that I can keep in mind tomorrow?” the young Deer Woman asked eagerly.

Jess looked pensive for a moment before replying, “As long as it runs and won’t break down a lot, I don’t really care. I’m not big into cars like the rest of you. Maybe not one of those big trucks though. I’ll trust your judgment.”

“Damn, this completely spoils my surprise, Jess. I was going to work on a car for you,” I told my sister with a pout.

“Yeah, I figured that you might try to pull that, Sis,” she shot back with a smirk. “I think you need an everyday car for yourself though. I might not be as into the car thing as you, but even I know that the Charger is not something that you want to use all the time.”

Bella nodded in agreement. “She’s got a point, Crystal. For the summer, yeah, it would be awesome, but I’d worry about getting into an accident with it with all the snow and ice we get in the winter. Not to mention what the road salt would do to the body and paint job.”

“Yeah, and that’s not counting theft and vandalism. The Charger would make a tempting target for thieves, and I wouldn’t put it past Delilah and her cronies to try to do something to your wheels to get to you,” Trixie contributed with a frown.

They did indeed make good points, and I knew it. I loved the Charger, it was not just an awesome car, but also a piece of my dad. I didn’t want it to be damaged or stolen. I would need to take more steps than just the security system to prevent that in the future whenever I drive it. Maybe some kind of Divine spell similar to what made the normies ignore paranormal businesses.

I let out a long sigh of resignation and admitted, “You’re right. I mean, on my first date with Melody, some bitch tried to jack my car so she could sell it and have some Trolls sell me in the Caverns.”

Shit, I probably said too much there. Dammit, Crystal, think before you speak. I held my breath, and my heart skipped a beat as Melody interjected, “We got away, obviously, but Crystal and her car both seem to have a problem with the whole concept of low-profile.”

“Fucking Trolls,” Trixie spat with distaste. “I’m glad that you both managed to get away, the last place you want to end up is in the Caverns.”

“Yeah, our future stepsister made that pretty clear to us,” I said with a shiver as I remembered what Rhissa had told me about her life after she had Manifested and run away from her foster parents. “So, I guess I’m getting another vehicle then. As much as I’d like to have a motorcycle again, it would be best not to if I’m going to be using it for the winter. The cold might not bother me, but riding one in winter with all the snow and ice here would be dangerous.”

We all decided to stay there and buy dinner to extend our time together by a couple more hours as the café got busier, and I was happy to see that Selina seemed to be relaxing bit by bit as Bella and Nova drew her into conversation. Once parents were called to let them know about our change in plans, Clarice left us for a few minutes before returning with a notepad and some menus so she could take our orders. Rose and my sister both ordered their rabbit food and Melody and Carmen both decided on the cheeseburger and fries.

Those of us with Salamanders were trying to eat ‘normally’ so we wouldn’t draw too much attention to our unusual appetites, so Carmen, Melody, and I were probably going to need to eat another light meal or snack once we got home. Once the others were finished ordering, it was my turn. “I think I’ll try the grilled chicken fillet burger with fries, Clarice. What would you like, Selina?”

“Umm… could I get the chicken nuggets and fries, Momma?” she asked, half-hidden behind the menu.

“Sure thing, sweetie,” I told her. I was almost expecting her to be teased for calling me Momma, but while I could see a couple of smiles, nobody said a word about it.

The food was really good, just as good as what Brock and Cindy made at the club. Clarice’s father was the cook, and she told us that he loved his job, and it was the entire reason that they opened this place when Clarice was little. Like us, the family also lived upstairs above their business.

Eventually, we had to leave the café and go our separate ways though. It was almost seven thirty and some of us had homework already, specifically those of us taking Art. Mrs. Bealey had given us a drawing assignment for the end of the week. We had to draw how we saw ourselves in ten years.

We paid for our meals, leaving a nice little tip for Clarice, and promised to see one another tomorrow, at least, those of us going to school. Then, once Rose and my sister stopped sucking face to say goodnight to one another, we left the café, climbed into the Charger, and headed home. As I drove us there, I couldn’t help but reflect on how nice it was to have a normal night out without getting attacked, almost having my car stolen and being sold into slavery, or accidentally turning some poor kid into a new type of Paranormal.

The next morning, I once again satisfied my needs as best I could in the shower before getting ready for school. Melody and I had taken the edge off my desire last night, but after eating something again and putting Selina to bed, there wasn’t as much time to fool around as we would have liked if we wanted to get enough sleep. I had enough problems concentrating in most of my classes without being tired too.

During breakfast, I told Mom about the concerns brought up about the Charger. She offered to let us use the club’s truck for the day instead while she tried to come up with something that could prevent theft or vandalism of the classic car. I still would try to avoid driving it during winter once my new wheels were ready, but I loved that car and wanted to drive it as much as possible during the warmer months.

Morning classes seemed to drag on forever until I had Auto Shop during third period. For first period, Jess and I both had Study Hall while Melody went to her catch-up session with Mrs. Jenner, the psychic. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much for me and Jess to do but try to work on our assignment for Art class. I wasn’t terrible at drawing, at least, not nearly as bad as Delilah, but it wasn’t something I had a passion for. Maybe I could get Mrs. Bealey to do a section on ice sculpting or something so we could spend some time out in the snow.

Next period we both had Drama alongside Rose and Melody. Acting really isn’t my thing either, but I supposed it would help me get past the whole compulsion to tell the truth if I could learn to get into character like Jess does. I had only managed to pretend to be my sister when we flew from Vancouver to Toronto because I didn’t have to speak all that much or answer any Jess-related questions. Even when we went through airport security, they just looked over the ID and scanned the luggage before waving me through.

Still, my sister seemed to be enjoying herself and I was at least learning some things that would be useful to me. Melody seemed to be having fun with it too, and seeing her smiling warmed my heart, and certain other places. The best part was that, including Auto Shop, I had no classes with Delilah that morning. I take my victories where I can get them.

I ran into the other girls in my class on the way to the shop building and they were all as excited as I was to go and pick out our project cars. Once we arrived and had changed into our coveralls and coats to protect our school uniforms, Mrs. Svenson wasted no time in ushering us all to the parking lot, and a big van, to take us to the wrecking yard. I could hardly sit still in my seat for the entire fifteen minutes it took us to get there, and we were all excitedly talking about what vehicles we were hoping we could find.

Once we arrived, Mrs. Svenson introduced us to her friend, a middle-aged Metal Mage with thinning grey hair who she introduced as Alex, who owned the wrecking yard and was sponsoring our class projects. He looked us over and gave us all a welcoming smile. “Welcome to my domain, young ladies, it’s nice to see more girls developing an interest in auto mechanics. I hope you’re not afraid to get dirty.”

A resounding chorus of “Noooo!” got a chuckle out of him.

“Alright then girls, it’s time to get dirty then. Let’s go look at some wrecks and you can find one you like. I’ll be showing you vehicles that might need a little love, but that you should be able to get roadworthy with parts from other vehicles here, or a good auto shop, as long as you have the determination and are willing to learn what my good friend, Diane, has to teach you.”

I noticed that none of the cars that he was showing us could be considered total write-offs. Some might need a bit of bodywork, but none of them seemed to have any serious damage to the frames that would compromise the structural integrity of the vehicle. Most of them needed a lot of work though, and parts either repaired or completely replaced. None of the vehicles he showed us were all that old either, twenty years at most, so we wouldn’t have too much trouble finding replacement parts.

As we had our quick tour, projects were quickly claimed by the others. Alison claimed a beat-up Jeep Cherokee that she fell in love with for some reason that I couldn’t quite figure out, while Nova claimed a 2004 Toyota Camry. I never pegged Trixie as a truck girl, but she ended up choosing a 2008 Ford F350 Super Duty. Finally, Bella picked out a red Ford Focus that was as old as she was, and Nikki chose a cute little 2005 Volkswagen Beetle.

Neither Clarice nor I found anything that called to us though, until Alex introduced us to a blue Toyota GR Supra with white racing stripes. It was only a couple of years old, and the interior was in good shape, but somebody had probably used it for street racing. Whoever had owned this car before had completely blown the engine.

Alex was able to confirm my guess. The car had been used for street racing by some kid who barely had a driver’s license and whose rich daddy bought the car for him. The father decided to write the car off and bring it to the wrecking yard rather than paying for what would be extensive repairs and Alex figured that the kid either got daddy to buy something new to replace it or he wouldn’t be driving again for a very long time.

The Supra needed some front-end work from an impact, especially on the driver’s side, and the engine needed to be completely rebuilt from the ground up or replaced entirely. The drivetrain wasn’t in much better shape than the engine, and I would want to have a good look underneath to make sure there were no other issues, but I could work with this. It would be a lot of work, and I might have to get some of the parts I needed from an auto shop, but this was the car I wanted, and I quickly claimed it for my own.

It was almost time to go get lunch when Clarice found what she wanted to work on for my sister. When we saw it, she just turned at me and grinned, and I couldn’t help but grin right back at her as I asked, “A little on the nose, isn’t it?”

“But that’s what makes it perfect!” she countered with a maniacal giggle.

The vehicle in question was a white 2008 Volkswagen Rabbit. It wasn’t as badly damaged as mine, but it did need a lot of work. Alex assured her that she could find everything she needed in the wrecking yard though if she was determined enough in her search. We all had our projects now, and it was time to get some lunch and return to school.

Before we left the wrecking yard, Alex told us that he would tow our project cars to the school over the next few days. He also encouraged us to come to the wrecking yard sometime over the weekend so he could tell us what our repair budgets were for parts from the yard and so we could start searching for the parts we needed. We were all squealing and happily chattering about our new projects as Mrs. Svenson took us through a fast-food drive-thru for lunch and then as we ate our meals on the way back to St. Michelle’s.

Mrs. Svenson even paid for our lunches herself. I couldn’t wait to get to work. She was just as passionately talking about our projects as we were and gave us advice on where to start when we chose our project cars. She knew her stuff, she obviously had a soft spot for the girls in her class, and she had arranged this awesome school project with Alex for us too.

I was so glad that I decided to take Auto Shop. Not only had I made some great new friends who shared my interest in tinkering with cars, but Mrs. Svenson was my favorite teacher, hands down. I was feeling so good about this class, my teacher, and my classmates that I managed to forget that I would be ending the day with Home Economics followed by P.E., and that Delilah would be in both of those classes too.

After returning to school, I and the other girls in the Auto Shop class had to hurry to clean up, get out of our coveralls, and straighten out our hair and uniforms to look presentable. I barely made it to Home Economics and into my seat beside my sister before the bell rang to announce the start of class. Unfortunately, our class wasn’t jumping right into baking and cooking today though. First, we were having a fairly dry lesson going over various weights, measures, and conversions that we would need to be familiar with once we got to the fun stuff.

When I wasn’t distracted by growing horniness and needing Jess to keep me focused, I was far too conscious of Delilah and her friends glaring at me from behind, as if by doing so they might trigger me to spontaneously combust. Good luck with that, bitches. If I didn’t spontaneously combust when I bonded with Cinder, then it certainly wasn’t going to happen now.

Still, when the bell sounded at the end of the class, I was happy to get out from under their glares for a few minutes as Jess and I walked to our lockers to put our books away and grab our gym bags. “You looked pretty happy when you showed up for class, Sis. I take it that you and the other girls had fun picking out cars to work on?”

“Yeah,” I replied with a grin as I let the past hour of class fade away and focused on the fun I’d had before it. “You won’t believe this, Jess! I found a Toyota Supra that’s only a couple of years old! I think the person who owned it before was street racing and over-revved it. The engine and drivetrain are both a mess and need to be rebuilt, so that’s gonna be a lot of work, and it’ll need some front-end work, but the interior is practically new, and the rest seems to be in good shape.”

My sister sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically. “You know I don’t speak mechanic, Sis. I’m glad that you found something you like and can have fun working on though.”

“Thanks, Sis,” I replied, trying not to blush from getting so giddy over a car. I was still giddily giggling as I added, “Clarice found the perfect car for you though.”

“This can’t be good; you’re giggling about it. I get the distinct impression that there’s a joke being played on me. What is it, Crystal?” the Púca asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

I looked away from my sister as we hoisted our gym bags and secured our lockers. I was glad that Clarice swore me to secrecy, and I was bound to the promise because otherwise, I would have probably let it slip. “I… uhh… can’t tell you, Jess. Clarice made me promise not to, she wants it to be a surprise. I guarantee it will be a good car for you though, and it is so appropriate.”

Jess pouted, but I was bound to the promise and couldn’t break it now, even if I wanted to. Thankfully Melody showed up to provide a distraction, a grimace on her face, as she worked the lock on her locker to get her stuff for gym as well. “Everything okay, sweetheart?” I asked in concern.

“Yeah, just a bit of a headache, Babe,” she replied with a sigh. “These catch-up sessions with Mrs. Jenner make my head throb from all the knowledge she’s stuffing into it. They faded pretty quickly after the first two sessions though, so I’ll be fine.”

“If you’re sure...” I quickly shut down the irrational urge to cast my pain relief spell on her because that would be a very bad idea. First of all, Demons and Divine magic don’t mix. More importantly, though, the last thing I wanted was to use Divine magic at school where people might be able to sense it and possibly give away my true nature and dual alignment.

I sighed and settled for giving her a quick kiss, after making sure that nobody was looking our way. Probably not the best idea since I was horny again and was so damn tempted to do so much more than just kiss, but I thought my girlfriend deserved at least something. She finished grabbing her stuff and, once she had secured her locker, we were on our way to the gym.

Rose and Clarice awaited us outside the changing room and we all quickly stepped inside to get out of our uniforms and into our gym clothes. I sighed to myself as I started getting undressed. As uncomfortable as wearing clothes all day was, this was worse. It was a tease; letting me get undressed just long enough for an instant of true comfort before I had to get dressed once again. It was actually kind of infuriating, especially since I would have to go through it again once gym class ended.

“They’re not really identical twins, you know,” I heard Delilah say snootily to another girl. “The Púca is a shapeshifter, she can look however she wants.”

“Are you a complete idiot naturally, or do you work at it?” my sister retorted coolly, not even thinking about covering herself as she stood there half-naked and looked at Delilah like some sort of prize idiot. “Of course, we’re not identical now, my base form is a bunny since I Manifested. That doesn’t mean we weren’t identical before Manifesting though. Identical twins share a close bond, and we grew up attached at the hip and in each other’s heads. Why else do you think I want to look like my twin? Other than her being the most beautiful girl in this room, hands down.”

As she said the last my sister was looking Delilah dead in the eyes, until the other girl turned around in a huff. I noticed that not one thing my sister said could be taken as a lie, especially since she had liberally sprinkled a lot of what she said with rhetorical general statements that could apply to anyone. The truth was that on paper the background for our new identities was that we were identical twins before she Manifested. In reality, we were also very close and had grown up that way too since my dad adopted her.

I couldn’t be sure who Delilah hated more after that dressing down, me or my sister, nor did I have much time to consider it since we had to hurry to get dressed for P.E. All through class she was glaring across the court at both of us as we played volleyball, and I was glad when class ended, and we could get changed and go home for the day. My friends and I were the last ones out of the changing room, partially because I didn’t want to deal with Delilah and partially because I took a little bit of a break just standing there naked before getting back into my clothes to give myself some all-too-brief relief from the mental discomfort.

I noticed that both Rose and Clarice tried to keep their eyes averted, but they didn’t complain about it as we talked. Melody mentioned coming with us on Saturday when the Auto Shop girls among us went to spend the day at the wrecking yard to look for parts for our projects. “I didn’t think you were into that,” Clarice said with a surprised look on her face.

“Honestly, I’m not,” my girlfriend admitted as she leaned in to give me a quick kiss, “but Crystal is. I’m not just her girlfriend, I’m sorta her bodyguard too, so I’d like to be there to protect all of you in case something happens. Crystal can be a bit of a trouble magnet.”

I didn’t even bother trying to deny that last statement as I started to get dressed again. The others had already been dressed and ready to leave for several minutes and I didn’t want to keep them waiting for long. “Yeah, I can see that,” Clarice replied with a mischievous grin. “She probably gets a lot of attention with her looks and the whole Nymph thing. Even when trying to look human.”

“I would ask if you wanted to do something while they’re all mucking about in the junkyard, Jess, but I have to work at the store that day,” Rose said as she teased my sister with kisses. “Besides, I already know that you’re busy that day.”

My sister nodded. “Yeah, as much as I’d love to spend the day with you too, I can’t. The bartending certification course that Mom and Pandora signed me up for is this Saturday, so I can start training and pulling shifts at the club once in a while. I’ll be there practically all day.”

“Don’t you need to be eighteen for that?” Clarice asked in confusion.

“Yeah, but our birthday is tomorrow,” I told her as I put on my bra and reached behind my back to clasp it. “Mom is planning a party on Sunday, while the club is closed, if you and the other girls want to come, Clarice.”

“Sure, send us the deets, and we’ll all try to be there. Alison and I can pick up everyone who needs a ride. Are you coming, Rose?” She inquired as she turned to the black-eared bunny Púca.

Rose nodded, smiling faintly. “Yeah, Jess texted me about it last night and my Aunt was okay with me taking the day off from the store. I’ll probably need a ride though.”

I finished dressing and we all filed out of the changing room to return to our lockers, after a parting kiss between Jess and her girlfriend. Carmen was waiting by our lockers and soon we were all ready to leave for the day. I was a little disappointed that we were using the club’s truck today instead of the Charger, but the girls had made a point about it being an attractive target for thieves or a certain petty high school drama queen.

Using it so much in winter wasn’t really the best idea either since winter driving could be hard on cars in general, even without the wear and damage that road salt would do to it over time. I would probably have to continue using it until I got the Supra running, but after that, I would try to only drive it during the summer. I didn’t think that borrowing the truck all the time was an effective, long-term solution though, so I was pleasantly surprised to sense some form of Divine magic imbued into the Charger when we pulled into the parking garage and parked the truck.

The magic was subtle and hard to detect, obviously my mother’s work. Fortunately, I had time to ask her about it since we still had a little over half an hour before the club was due to open and she was still upstairs. She and the other Dancers had planned on starting my daughter’s homeschooling today, so I wasn’t surprised to see Mom and Pandora going over lessons with Selina on the tablet I had gotten her for Christmas.

“Hey, how are the lessons going?” I asked once we had made our way out of the elevator and gotten into normal conversational range.

“We took it slow today,” Pandora said with a smile. “We wanted to get a general idea of what she needs to catch up on since she was out of school for a while and her memory before coming to live with us is so spotty.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” Carmen agreed as she plopped into an armchair.

I nodded in agreement. “As long as she’s doing her best, we were expecting her to have some catching up to do, after all. Mom, I know you and Pandora will probably have to go downstairs in a few minutes, but I was hoping to talk to you about whatever spell you put on the Charger.”

Mom beamed up at me. “I tried to make it as subtle as possible, to avoid too much attention from other Paranormals, but I figured that you would be sensitive enough to detect it, Snowflake.”

“So, what exactly does the spell do then?” I asked.

“It’s much like the protections that we have around the club,” my mother happily explained. “Whenever the car isn’t running, the normies will see it as an old beater and their attention will slide away from it to quickly forget about it Nobody should take an interest in it, but still know that something is there so there are no accidents while it’s parked. While the car is running though, that spell would be too dangerous to have active. Messing with other drivers’ minds like that while in traffic could be a problem, and I figured you wouldn’t want to be seen driving a beater.”

Mom knew me so well, but then, she did have the same Nymph vanity that I did. I sighed as I considered the possible issues with Delilah though. “I guess there’s no way to do anything about other Paranormals since most of us can sense magic to some degree.” The magic she did use was probably subtle enough not to be detected by most Paranormals though.

“Unfortunately, there isn’t, Snowflake, and if I put any stronger spells on it, it would most likely attract more attention from other Paranormals rather than less. I would suggest parking within view of the security cameras when you’re at school until you get your new vehicle road-ready.

“Well, that sucks. And I wouldn’t put it past that bitch, Delilah, to torch the Charger, especially with the way she was glaring at you and Jess during P.E.,” Melody grumbled. “I’ll try to keep an eye out for danger to both of you, but we don’t have a lot of classes together and I’m worried about what she might try to pull when I’m not around.”

“I’m more worried about Jess than me,” I contributed grimly. “She’s pissed at both of us now, but I’m fireproof. Sure, I don’t want to have to try to somehow cover up the whole thing with Cinder and the other Salamanders, but she can’t hurt me with her magic, and I’ve got magic of my own to defend myself in case she gets her friends to come after us instead of having the guts to do it herself. Jess isn’t fireproof and has no way to defend herself against any magic that Delilah or her minions might use against her if they catch her alone. Rose is in the same boat.”

Unfortunately, Mom and Pandora had to head downstairs to open the club and get ready to go on stage later, so they weren’t able to discuss things further with us. We spent the rest of the evening hanging out and spending time with Selina, Lou, and Sorcha while doing what little homework we had and trying not to worry too much about things at school. Still, I wasn’t as successful with that last part as I would have liked. I had a bad feeling about Delilah and that she would try to pull something big soon.

I sat in the school library with Jess, both of us quietly talking as we tried not to die from boredom. We had Study Hall this period, but both of us had already finished what little homework we had. I had even finished my drawing that was due for Art class tomorrow, it wasn’t great, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t horrible either. At least we had lunch next period so we could hang out with our friends for a bit.

My day had started with my magic class with Carmen, where Ms. Norstrom had us meditating and learning different focusing exercises that would allow us to clearly picture what we wanted to with a spell in our minds as we drew upon our magic. She wanted to make sure that we had the fundamentals down before teaching us anything more advanced. Not that I minded starting with the fundamentals since Mom had also insisted on just how important it was to clearly visualize what I wanted to do with my magic. The last time I tried to rush things I had ended up with a daughter and I was determined to be more careful in the future, especially with Divine magic.

After magic, I had Art, a class that none of my family or friends shared. Delilah and her minions were there though, and they took every opportunity to send glares and nasty comments in my direction. Somehow, I resisted the urge to experiment with whether I could freeze their undergarments, as I had accidentally done to Lou when we first met. Instead, I satisfied myself with countering each of their comments with my own blistering replies, whispered just loud enough to carry to them and not the teacher.

Now I couldn’t wait to go eat some lunch and have more of a distraction from the discomfort of my clothes, mounting horniness, and other stuff that was bothering me. Jess’s voice once again drew me out of my daze. “What’s up, Sis? I know that you’re horny and uncomfortable, I’ve gotten used to what that looks like on you, but there’s more to it. You seem more tense than usual.”

“I dunno, maybe it’s the whole birthday thing,” I mumbled dismally.

“What about it?” she asked, though I could tell from the look on her face and her tone that she already had a pretty good guess.

My voice was barely audible as I whispered back, “It’s supposed to be our eighteenth birthday today. It just… feels kinda weird since we turned eighteen, like a month ago. This doesn’t really feel like our day yet, I guess, and the last time we turned eighteen…”

I trailed off, unable to finish that sentence, not that I needed to. Jess was well aware of how badly our last eighteenth birthday had gone. Dad was in the hospital as a result of a murder attempt and that led to everything in our lives changing.

Dad died due to hospital incompetence, which crushed both of us, and then I found out I was on the same Demon hit list and we had to fake our death and flee our home. When we thought we might be safe with Aunt Merry I Manifested, changing genders and becoming a Nymph. While I was trying to come to terms with that, and we were planning our escape to come live with Mom, Melody showed up and warned us that Demons managed to track us down and she had to flee the city too.

In the resulting shitstorm that followed my motorcycle was destroyed and we accidentally discovered I was a Muse, like my mother, when I healed Aunt Merry. Then Melody had put together the pieces to figure out I used to be Seth. Then there was fleeing Vancouver to lay down a false trail, the whole incident with my father’s backstabbing former friend, and finally meeting Mom for the first time and getting set up with a new identity.

Jess leaned over to hug me, speaking softly in my ear. “Yeah, I can see where you’re coming from, Sis. We’ve got friends and a big family who care about us and want to keep us safe now though. Maybe this time we can actually celebrate turning eighteen. I still miss Dad too, but he would want us to be happy here and try to move on with our lives.”

“I know,” I agreed with a despondent sigh. “I’ve just got this terrible feeling that something bad is going to happen.”

The bell ending class rang a moment later and we gathered our stuff and headed to our lockers to put it away. Melody was already waiting there for us, so we all headed to the cafeteria together. The food in the cafeteria wasn’t bad and they had options for all types of Paranormal diets, but we had to wait forever in line and since everyone in school was turned against us, the Auto Shop girls and anyone close to us were all seated in the furthest corner of the cafeteria.

I tried to cheer up and get involved with the conversation at the table as I ate my grilled salmon, sweet rice, and salad, but the others saw right through me. We were talking about everyone coming to the club for the party on Sunday when Alison asked, “Come on, Crystal, what’s wrong? You’ve been mopey since you showed up for lunch.”

I attempted to give her a smile, but it felt weak, even to me. “Just a case of birthday blues, I guess. Well, that, and I can feel Delilah’s eyes trying to burn a hole in me from the other side of the cafeteria. I’ve got a bad feeling that she’s going to try to pull something nasty.”

“It’s a good thing that the four of us have Drama together next class, and she’s not in that class. Plus, you should be safe with the other girls in fifth period since you have Auto Shop then,” Rose muttered from beside Jessica. “Still, I wouldn’t put it past her to get one of her friends to do something while she’s not around so she can appear blameless.”

“Nobody goes anywhere alone, especially to places like the bathroom, where she and her friends can get you alone and away from prying eyes. Until we know what her move will be, we all stick together in pairs or groups,” Melody stated with a cautious glance toward the other side of the cafeteria.

“That seems like a good precaution, “Trixie agreed.

“If she tries anything, with any of us, I will personally fuck her up,” Bella practically growled. “I’m not scared of getting detention, it wouldn’t be the first time.” While I appreciated Bella’s willingness to protect or avenge her friends, I hoped she would be careful if it came to that. Being a Metal Mage she would be at a distinct disadvantage if Delilah used Fire magic.

There wasn’t really much that we could do right now though, besides sticking together and not giving Delilah a single target, at least until we knew what she was likely to do. With that in mind, we tried to ignore her for the moment since she was highly unlikely to do anything in the cafeteria with all the staff here eating as well. We went back to discussing our weekend plans and tried to convince ourselves that we weren’t worried.

Thankfully, Drama class was nothing to stress over since I was there with my sister and both of our girlfriends. None of the girls in our class were any of those from Delilah’s inner circle either, though she seemed to hold some sway over most of the girls in school, especially in the higher grades, so them not being her direct flunkies didn’t mean much. The only thing of interest about the class at all was the lesson since today we were learning about voice projections, which we were told is a much-needed skill for actresses, particularly in theatre.

For our last class of the day, we all had different classes though, and I was worried about Delilah or one of her friends trying to harass Jess. Melody, Carmen, or Rose while they were on their own. I was lucky since my last class was Auto Shop, so the girls and I could stick together on the way to and from class. We wouldn’t need to worry about anyone in Delilah’s social circle being in that class either.

Carmen was probably the most vulnerable since her locker was practically on the other side of the school and she was a couple of grades below us. She shared a couple of classes with Bella, but not this afternoon. Other than that, the only class she shared with anyone else from our group was her magic class with me, and that was largely due to a fluke. Her only saving grace if something bad happened was that she could use the Salamander network to speak to me and Melody. Rose and Jess weren’t so fortunate, which had my worries flipping back to them once again as I made my way to class with Clarice and Trixie.

Distraction came in the form of class. More specifically, Mrs. Svenson spent the first half of class on the internal combustion engine, how it worked, and the newer hybrid and electric engines. She had us go over the diagrams in our textbooks so we could visualize what she was telling us too, but many of us had already read our textbooks cover to cover or already had some experience working on engines. A few of the older girls had taken the class before as well and were just looking to improve their skills.

After the lecture portion of the class was over, Mrs. Svenson led us all out the big garage door of the shop and into the back. Only one vehicle at a time would fit inside the workshop, but there was an area behind the building that was mostly protected from the elements by a corrugated steel roof and surrounded by a security fence to make sure nobody who shouldn’t be there could get inside. All seven of our project vehicles were out there waiting for us.

I was practically vibrating with excitement to get a better look at the Supra and start getting to work. I was almost distracted enough to forget how horny and uncomfortable I was. I might have preferred wearing coveralls to not get too dirty, but it was still yet another layer of clothing on top of my uniform when my mind was itching just to take everything off and get naked. At least I didn’t need to bundle up like the others did.

My classmates didn’t seem to mind too much and since it was January it probably could have been a lot colder than it was. It was minus twelve Celsius, so they probably wouldn’t be too bad off if they wore their gloves, something to cover their heads and ears, and the thermal coveralls that Mrs. Svenson had recommended they buy at the start of the week. We were all eager to get to work and had already downloaded repair manuals to our respective tablets or phones that included vehicle specs, possible replacement parts, and most of the pertinent information that we might need for the models in question.

Mine was a 2020 Toyota GR Supra, so finding cheap replacement parts from others of its kind at the wrecking year was less likely than the older vehicles that the others had chosen. I was probably going to have to buy a replacement for the front bumper panel and grill, as well as the driver’s side headlight, but the body damage was mostly cosmetic, and the work would be relatively easy. The hood wasn’t even bent out of shape, so it looked like the car hadn’t been going too fast on impact and the driver had likely been trying to brake after the engine and drivetrain blew to avoid a collision or hadn’t been going very fast.

The headlight, grill, and panel I was probably going to have to order new, and I would be looking at around five or six hundred for them. As for the engine and drivetrain, I was going to have to completely break those down and take them apart to see which parts could be cleaned and reused and which needed to be replaced. The engine was a twin-turbo beast that I was really hoping I could get working properly again, but it looked like the pistons were blown and the flywheel was warped.

It looked like the eight-speed transmission was in good shape, but it would need a little work too. I would have to get inside the shop so I could have a closer look at the drivetrain and inspect it for damage though. All-in-all though, it looked like most of the work was going to be taking apart the engine, cleaning and sorting parts, and then putting it back together once I had any needed replacement parts.

Class ended before I knew it and we were all soon getting out of our coveralls and heading back to our lockers. I had taken long enough getting out of my coveralls and talking to the others about our projects that Melody, Camen, Rose, and my sister were all waiting for me. Thankfully, it seemed like Delilah and her friends hadn’t pulled anything today since none of them looked any more bothered than just being at school could account for, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that they would try something soon.

After looking around to make sure nobody was looking our way, I gave my girlfriend a quick kiss. “How were your classes?” I asked the group in general after breaking off the all-too-brief kiss with a sigh. “Did anything interesting happen?”

Everyone except for Rose shrugged noncommittally, and the black bunny girl briefly frowned. “Delilah is in my English class with a couple of her cancerous growths… I mean friends, so that was fun now that she’s not just focused on you anymore. Fortunately. it was just glares being shot my way since Mrs. Simmons doesn’t allow talking in class for anything but the subject we’re discussing.”

“People are mostly ignoring me,” Camen said with a shrug, except those who want illusory tattoos once they think I can do something more than the Salamander mark. “If I had any interest in cars beyond driving one next year, I’d probably drop my boring Art elective and see about joining Auto Shop, so I could join you and the other girls.”

“You know, Carmen, it’s a useful class,” I told her seriously. “You can learn to properly maintain a vehicle and save on repair costs by being able to do a lot of the work yourself. There’s a lot of stuff that all drivers should know, not just gearheads like me. I mean, what if your car breaks down somewhere? You might be able to fix the problem yourself if it’s not too serious, rather than calling a tow truck and paying for expensive repairs. And if you could get in and maybe get a project car, then you could already have your own car for when you get your driver’s license this summer.”

“Well… you do make some good points there…” she reluctantly admitted.

I grinned as I grabbed her hand and started to pull the Healer back toward the direction I had just come from. “C’mon, Carmen! Mrs. Svenson is still there so maybe we can see if there’s still time to get you into the class. It’s not like it’s a popular one.”

Carmen allowed herself to be dragged along in my wake and my Auto Shop teacher was still there when I pulled her inside the auto repair shop/classroom. “Crystal, what brings you back so soon? Did you forget something?” The Dwarf woman asked with a smile.

“No, nothing like that, Mrs. Svenson,” I told her while pushing Carmen toward her. “This is my friend, Carmen. She doesn’t know much about auto repair, but she doesn’t like her art class and was thinking of dropping it and taking Auto Shop, if she could still get in. I told her it’s good knowledge for drivers to have.”

“Umm… hi,” Carmen offered awkwardly, her cheeks flushed.

Mrs. Svenson looked pensive for a moment, before looking Carmen over. “Crystal is right, the skills are useful for anyone with a vehicle and there is plenty of room for new students. You haven’t even missed much yet, nothing that your classmates couldn’t help you catch up with. You’re not afraid of getting dirty, are you?”

Carmen rapidly shook her head. “No, Ma’am, I want to be a doctor, like my mom. I know that can be a messy and gross job at times, but it’s worth it, and I’ve gotten used to the idea of getting blood and… other stuff all over me. A little grease probably won’t be any worse.”

“Good, a little grease never hurt anyone,” Mrs. Svenson told her with a grin. “I was hoping for up to a dozen students this year, but with Crystal, we’ve only gotten seven. Since Alex and I were hoping for a dozen kids, it would be well within our planned budget for this year to add one more. As long as the headmistress approves it, I don’t have a problem with you joining the class, Carmen.”

“So, I can get in… if Headmistress Collins gives me the okay?” Carmen asked, looking a little stunned. I guess I did kind of just drag her in here and strongarm her into this, but it would be good for her, and she was already becoming good friends with the other girls in the class.

Mrs. Svenson nodded. “Yes, if you’re approved and don’t mind going with the girls to the wrecking yard on Saturday, I’ll tell Alex to show you some of the other cars we had planned for project cars. Most of the older girls have quite a bit of experience working on cars so they can probably help you figure out what repairs need to be done and help you pick out the parts you’ll need if you’re willing to listen and learn. Crystal can tell you what you’ll need for the class, though we supply the tools and such, so as long as you get a good pair of thermal coveralls and the other items on the supplies list that I gave Crystal on the first day, you should be fine.”

With that, we then hurried to the headmistress’s office to see about getting Carmen transferred out of Art and into Auto Shop. Carmen was worried about getting the okay for it, but it went a lot easier than she was expecting since we weren’t even at the end of the first week of classes yet. Once we were finished, we swung by our lockers to grab our backpacks, coats, and stuff. Melody and Jess were still there, but Rose got offered a ride home with Alison so she had already left with the Glaistig.

As we walked back toward the parking lot, where the Charger waited, Carmen said, “Thanks, Crystal, I kinda want to know why you and the other girls find this stuff fun, but I wasn’t sure about intruding on your thing. I’m not even sure I’ll be very good at it.”

I waved off her concerns as we stepped out of the building and into the winter air. It was snowing and that never failed to make me smile, so I was practically beaming when I told her, “It’s not just my thing, and it’s something we can talk about and have fun with together. Look at it this way, it’ll be good training for being a doctor too. It’s the same basic principles, just on cars instead of people. You need to do regular checkups to make sure your patient is healthy, and if they’re not, you diagnose what’s wrong, come up with a treatment plan, and then you sometimes need to get into their guts to do a little surgery. The surgery is just more often with wrenches than scalpels.”

“Ugh, now you made me think of getting in someone’s guts with a wrench to try and fix them. That image is going to be lodged in my brain for a while,” Carmen complained. She was smiling though.

“Huh, wrench and guts… that reminds me of the time…” Melody started to say with a far-off look in her eyes, only to be interrupted by my sister.

“Nope! I don’t want to hear it, Mel,” Jess protested. She didn’t really care for the few stories that Melody had shared with her about her time as a Paranormal hitwoman. I thought some of them were pretty funny, but then, Melody had a way of making everything fun for me.

“You’re so weird sometimes, Mel,” Carmen agreed, “but we love you anyway.”

“Hey, is it my fault if really nasty people died in hilarious ways around me when I was supposed to be killing them?” Melody countered with a smirk.

“I like Melody’s stories, they…” The words died in my throat as we turned into the parking lot, and I saw my car. Words had been spray painted all over the Charger in bright orange paint. One of the words was ‘Nymph’ but the others were various slurs like slut, whore, and cunt.

“Someone is going to die in a very not-hilarious way,” Melody said in a cold tone that was almost frighteningly calm.

I barely heard her. Everything but those words hastily sprayed on my car had faded into the background. My stomach felt like it was made of lead, tears stung my eyes, and my heart was burning with fury. That bitch was going to pay for this! I was held back from running toward my car as Jess grabbed me, held me in place, and took charge.

“No, I’m calling Mom,” my sister said firmly. “Sis, you need to think, we need to check and make sure that nobody cast any magic on or around the car. It could be booby-trapped for all we know. Mel, don’t do anything except stick with Crystal and hold her. Keep her from freaking out any more than she already is. We don’t know for sure who did this and they’re trying to provoke us. We need to go talk to the security, and maybe the headmistress. This had to have been done very recently, or Rose and the others would have seen it when they were leaving and told us about it.”

“I’ll go see if I can find a teacher or someone from security,” Carmen said as she ran off to do so.

Melody took over holding me and trying to convince me that it would be okay while Carmen ran off and Jess called Mom. “Calm down, Babe. We’ll get back at whoever did this, but your sister is right, you need to calm down and start thinking clearly. You’re the strongest magic user we have here and if anyone used any magic around here recently, you’re the only one of us who might be able to sense it.” The words were whispered gently in my ear as she stroked my long, white hair.

Still, it took her several minutes to calm me down and by the time she had, Jess was no longer on the phone and Carmen was returning with a security guard and a very familiar teacher with large, white, feathery wings. “I ran into… Ms. Norstrom… first,” Carmen panted out as she ran toward us with our magic teacher and the security guard close behind.

I was glad it was Ms. Norstrom since I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea for me to try to use magic while I was emotional and not thinking clearly. Neither person needed to be told what had happened since, even if Carmen hadn’t told them before bringing them here, it was painfully obvious. The Valkyrie quickly took charge and called the headmistress, after telling the security guard to call his peers in the security office to access the camera footage for the area. I was kind of lost, still too angry and upset to do much but bury myself in Melody’s arms while the people in charge handled things.

Mom arrived in the club’s truck with Aunt Merry twenty minutes after Jess called her. Annika was going to double as the doorperson and bouncer until we got home so they had come as quickly as they could. Now we were all in the office of Headmistress Collins, along with Ms. Norstrom and the head of security, an imposing Sasquatch who was introduced as Mr. Henderson.

Thankfully, Ms. Norstrom had managed to remove the paint with Divine magic before it had set and bonded permanently to the paint job. Security had to take a few pictures first, for evidence, but now you wouldn’t even know that anything had been done to the Charger. I knew though, and it burned me up inside. I wasn’t the only one who felt that way either.

I had only seen my mom and Aunt Merry truly angry once before, when Carmen, Sorcha, and I unthinkingly bonded with our Salamanders. This put that to shame though. Both of them were livid and that was a little scary since Mom was usually either really cheerful or carefully controlling her expression. Nothing was permanently damaged thanks to Ms. Norstrom, but it was the principle of it, and that nobody was going to be facing any consequences for what was done to my car.

“I can’t believe you’re going to let those little shits get away with this,” Aunt Merry fumed. “You saw what they wrote on her car! Not only is this a clear case of harassment and bigotry, but vandalism as well! The Valk there might have been able to clean everything up, but it doesn’t change the fact that a crime was committed!”

“We know who did it too,” Melody agreed. “It was that spoiled bitch, Delilah. She’s been harassing Crystal since we started here and has called her most of those slurs to her face.”

“Can you prove it though?” the headmistress countered, far calmer than I would have been if I had a bunch of angry people in my office. “Unless we have physical evidence or proof by way of video or photographs, or witnesses come forward, my hands are tied. You could try to file harassment charges with the PDA, but they would also require proof.”

Of course, we couldn’t prove it. The two cameras in the parking lot that were pointed toward the Charger had ‘mysteriously’ shorted out just before the incident and the falling snow covered any footprints that might have been left behind by the time people started looking for evidence. No handy spray cans with fingerprints were found to incriminate anyone specific either. Delilah, or whoever she had put up to this, had been careful not to leave any solid evidence.

“You have to know those cameras were hit by someone with Lightning magic,” my mother pointed out bitterly as she clenched her fists tightly at her sides. “If my daughters and their property are not going to be safe here, then maybe I should withdraw them.”

“That would make Delilah happy, it’s probably exactly what she’s hoping for,” my sister said as she tried to be the voice of reason.

As angry as I was, I had to agree with Jess. Delilah was trying to drive us out of school so she could keep her pathetic little high school queendom. I had been reluctant to come to this school at first, but I was making friends, I loved the projects we were working on for Auto Shop, and I honestly felt that Ms. Norstrom could help me to get a better grip on both my Ice magic and Divine magic. Jess was feeling good about what she was learning in her shapeshifting class too, she thought that she might be making progress, and I didn’t want to take that away from her.

There was also the fact that I was burning for a bit of payback, and I didn’t want her to think that she had gotten to me. I wasn’t about to leave and abandon my new friends either. “Jess is right, Mom. Pulling us from school would only make her successful, and she’ll try even worse things to anyone else who doesn’t bow and scrape at her feet. We need to make a stand here. I refuse to let her think that she’s getting her way.”

The headmistress sighed as she looked over me and Jess wearing matching expressions of determination and cold fury. I didn’t care. Delilah wasn’t going to get away with this. “I won’t condone petty vengeance, girls. If you do something and get caught, her parents will go straight to the PDA and see that you face trumped-up charges.”

So, don’t do anything that can be proven through witnesses, physical evidence, video, or photographs. These were the rules that were set, and we could work within those if Delilah could. If that bitch wanted to play hardball, then I could play hardball too. I would have secretly dropped her in the middle of the Fire Plane if I wasn’t worried that some Salamander with poor taste might bond with her and regret it later. Not to mention she’d probably come back even more arrogant.

Besides, that wouldn’t work. If she disappeared now, I’d be the number one suspect after today and her friends would probably lie and say they witnessed something that didn’t happen. Nope, we needed to be smart and make sure that nothing we did could come back on us. “Of course, Headmistress, we’re better than her, we should act like it,” I answered as sweetly as I could manage.

There were no promises there, nor anything that would count as a lie. We would be better than Delilah and beat her at her own game. This was no petty vengeance either. Delilah had incurred a debt with me today, and Fey always pay our debts. I tried to turn the subject away from any thoughts that I might do exactly what she didn’t want us to do. “So how are we supposed to get to school now? We shouldn’t be punished with inconvenience because she gets away with anything at this school.”

I may not have mentioned Delilah by name, but I knew very well that Headmistress Collins knew exactly who I was talking about. It was enough to bring a guilty expression to her face before she winced and looked away. I had a feeling that she knew exactly how bad Delilah was and either couldn’t or wouldn’t do anything about her. That could be due to a lack of evidence, pressure from Delilah’s wealthy parents, or more likely, both.

“I would suggest you girls make other travel plans to get to school tomorrow,” she replied. “The cameras in the parking lot won’t be repaired until Monday, and I can’t guarantee that something like this won’t happen again before then.”

“You’re missing the point. I don’t trust parking my car here, period, not even once the cameras are fixed. They didn’t exactly help this time around,” I pointed out caustically. “Until I have your personal guarantee, in writing, that my car will never again be at risk of being spray painted, firebombed, or otherwise vandalized by certain parties, I will not be parking it here. As long as I think that someone might so much as write rude messages in the ice on my windshield, I will not drive here. So, either something needs to be done to actually protect my property while I’m here, or I will get Melody to teleport us here through the Infernal Plane every day.”

~Or the Fire Plane,~ Melody replied mentally, letting me know that she was following my thoughts exactly. Then she made a point of shrugging as she said for the benefit of everyone else in the room. “That’s doable. We, and our uniforms, will smell like smoke and/or brimstone, but I don’t remember seeing anything like that mentioned in the dress code, so we should be good. It might not make a good impression on our classmates, teachers, or anyone else who happens to see, or rather smell, us in these uniforms though.”

“You could bring another car,” the woman behind the desk pointed out with a sigh.

“No, we couldn’t. My project car for Auto Shop is going to take a lot of work to get running and this is the only car that we have available to us right now unless you want to provide another for us. Even if we did have another, the same thing would just happen to it and I’m not risking anyone’s property being vandalized again by the poor little rich girl. I shouldn’t have to be dropped off and picked up like some elementary school kid when I have a perfectly good vehicle to drive in, especially when I’m the victim here. So, either my property is respected and protected here, and I get a guarantee for that, or we come to school smelling like hellfire barbeque every day for the foreseeable future.”

She didn’t want to sign that guarantee, especially after I showed her exactly how much my car was worth in pristine condition like it was. She just couldn’t let the school be accountable for that much money when there was no way to guarantee this wouldn’t happen again. To be fair, I would have balked at potentially covering the cost if it was damaged too since it was in the six-figure range, and that was without the sentimental value attached to it.

Ms. Norstrom had offered to place protective enchantments on the Charger, but that much active Divine magic would bring far more attention to it, and me, from other Paranormals. As a Nymph, that could put me under a microscope and place me in potential danger from the Paranormal criminal element, something that she and Headmistress Collins could see when Mom pointed it out. It was why Mom hadn’t done it herself, not that she could tell them that part.

We left disappointed, but it wasn’t anything that I wasn’t expecting. Mom and Aunt Merry were both proud of me for sticking to my guns on this though. They seemed even more proud when I told them I wasn’t going to take this lying down and would repay the debt owed. I’m pretty sure that the headmistress thought I was bluffing about the teleporting bit and would find another way to get to school or borrow a less valuable car, but she’d find out tomorrow that I wasn’t. I had drawn my line in the snow, and I was going to stick to it.

As soon as we arrived home, Aunt Merry and Mom had to head down to the club to start work which left Melody, Carmen, Jess, and I hanging out with Sorcha and Selina. My daughter was keeping the little Selkie occupied by playing with their dolls together while they watched cartoons. She turned toward us as we stepped out of the elevator though and looked worried as we all found places to get comfortable.

“Is… everything okay, Momma?” she asked hesitantly. “Nana Tiffani and Aunt Merry looked upset when Aunt Jess called them, and they left in a hurry.”

“The school’s queen bitch spraypainted a bunch of slurs and other nasty stuff on Crystal’s car,” Melody told her with a grimace. “We can’t prove it was her, of course, because the cameras got mysteriously fried just before it happened.”

“Bits,” Sorcha repeated with that slight four-year-old lisp as she looked up at us in interest. Of course, the one word the precocious little tyke took away from Melody’s venting was the one word that none of us wanted her repeating, especially where her mother might hear. Meanwhile, Selina looked angry, but she knew how much I loved my car and how special it was.

“Don’t worry, Sweetie, my magic teacher managed to remove the paint without doing any damage. The Charger is in the same good condition that it was this morning,” I assured the Astrae before turning to the Selkie. “Sorcha, maybe don’t use that word again. It’s not a very nice word and your mom probably won’t want you to say it. Okay, Squirt?”

“Kay,” the little one agreed cheerfully.

My sister flopped down onto the couch and groaned. “Well, we can’t prove that the bi… very mean girl did anything, but we all know that she was the one behind it. The question is, how are we going to get back at her? We can’t just let her think she’s going to get away with this.”

“An eye for an eye? We could do something to her car?” Carmen suggested. “With all the snow we’ve been getting, there should be plenty of ice for Crystal to work with.”

I shook my head sadly. “There are a whole lot of things I could do to her car with Ice magic; freeze the fuel line, make the suspension brittle, shred her tires, or a number of other nasty little tricks. I don’t want to do any vandalism that could be traced back to me though, especially not anything that could actually damage the car or cause an accident. If we do anything against her, it can’t be anything that can be traced directly back to us or can be dismissed as a prank. We’ll all have to have an alibi, and it can’t be anything criminal because the headmistress will be watching us for retaliation.”

“That’s going to limit us,” Melody pointed out as she flopped down beside Carmen and pulled me into her lap to snuggle. “I thought, you might want to go after her car too, with the whole paying of debts thing.”

“Oh, I do want to go after her car to send her a message. I’m not going to touch it though, at least, not directly,” I said with a satisfied smirk as an idea came to me. I was hoping to pull off an evil, maniacal laugh too, but my chirpy little voice and the giggles that manifested totally killed that idea.

Everyone turned to look at me as I grinned at them and snuggled closer to my girlfriend, who sighed and said, “Uh oh, you’ve got that Fey mischief look in your eyes. What are you going to do, Babe?”

“It’s probably better that none of you know yet, so you can be genuinely surprised,” I replied for everyone’s sake. “I’ll need to know what Delilah’s car looks like though.”

“Already on it,” Jess mumbled as she rapidly texted. “I sent the pics I took of what Delilah did to your car to the girls on the private Discord server we set up yesterday and they’re pissed. Trixie seems to be of the same mind as you regarding a little Fey payback.” My sister handed me her phone to display the chat server I had almost completely forgotten about.

White Rabbit: Delilah, or someone close to her, did this to the Charger. The Divine magic teacher managed to remove the paint without causing any damage, but my sis was pretty upset. Can’t prove it was her either since the cameras ‘mysteriously’ shorted out and won’t be fixed until Monday.

FeyoftheWood: I guess the parking lot isn’t safe for those of us with cars anymore. Who would go after a classic car like that? It would be such a shame if something were to happen to that brand new red Dodge Viper Shelby I’ve seen in the lot too. It’s such a nice car but the owner is probably conceited as all hell with those vanity plates. HOT STUFF? What kind of egomaniac has plates like that?

I had to smile at Trixie’s comment. It told me exactly what I needed to know while not directly saying anything incriminating in case anyone else saw these messages over our shoulders or something. I handed my sister back her phone and then grabbed my own to send a couple of messages of my own.

FrigidFey: @everyone thanks, I’m doing better now. I won’t be driving to school for a while though. Have other transportation in mind.

FrigidFey: @FeyoftheWood Yeah, I’ve seen that car, it’s almost as nice as the Charger. Hopefully, nothing happens to it before the security cameras can be fixed.

After that, I felt a lot better as we all hung out with Selina and Sorcha. Lou was off hanging out with some of his friends from the boys’ school, so it was just Carmen, Melody, Jess, Selina, Sorcha, and me until Dr. Diaz and Aislinn joined us just before dinner and ate with us. Well, most of us anyway. Jess, Melody, and I would be going down to the club to eat tonight since my sister and I were now officially eighteen.

Our birthday party wouldn’t be until Sunday, but I still wanted to spend some time with Selina today since, as of today, I was now officially and legally her guardian. It was something that I thought should be recognized, which I did by spending quality time with her by brushing and braiding her hair and just talking about how she was doing with her studies and everyday stuff. Once I was working at the club at night and at school during the day, we wouldn’t have much time for this kind of thing, even if I was only working a couple of hours a night until I graduated.

Once we had changed out of our school uniforms and Sorcha and Selina were finished eating and settling in to watch some more cartoons and play together under Aislinn’s watchful eye, I gave my daughter a quick kiss on the forehead and a hug. “Have fun playing with Sorcha, Sweetie. I’ll be back up around nine to tuck you into bed and say goodnight.”

“Okay, Momma,” she replied as she hugged me back and then she turned her attention back to the four-year-old Selkie girl and the show they were watching as Melody, Jess, and I headed for the elevator to go down to the club.

Being in the club while it was open was a strange experience at first. It was still the same, familiar place that we had gotten used to since arriving, but with the lights low, the neon on, the music playing, and a whole lot of people around that I didn’t recognize, it felt very different too. There was this sudden realization that this place I was becoming so familiar with was also a place of business that I wasn’t all that familiar with.

It wasn’t just all the men (and some women) seated at the bars or in the booths to watch the shows and socialize either. It was seeing Pandora on the main stage in all her succubus glory, dancing to the music and slowly relieving herself of her clothes, which I was so jealous of. It was all those other people that I didn’t know who were doing their jobs.

We had never had a chance to meet many of the part-time employees of the club who didn’t live upstairs before now. I came to the realization that we hadn’t interacted with any of the part-time staff except for Olivia, one of the waitresses who sometimes helped bring our dinners upstairs when the club was open. I didn’t even know her that well, except for her first name and that she was an Air Mage. All the other part-time waitresses and bartenders were strangers though.

I tried to push those thoughts out of my mind as we looked for an empty booth to claim. That only made me more conscious of the eyes following us as we did so. Patrons of the club had been watching us, me and Jess in particular, with great interest since we had stepped out of the elevator near the main stage. It probably didn’t help that Jess had decided that we should do the twin thing and dress identically.

Thankfully it was still somewhat early on a Thursday so the club wasn’t too busy yet, so we could have our pick of tables. Most people who were there were either seated near the main stage to watch Pandora or at the bars to get drinks and watch the dancers on the mini stages to either end of the bar. It looked like Krysti, Nadia, Rhissa, and Nixie were working those small stages at the moment, each of them in various stages of undress that had my brain itching to do the same thing.

Our decision on a table was made when the Dicken sisters called us over to share one of the large booths by the kitchen, where we usually ate our meals when the club was closed. “On your dinner break?” I asked my mentors as we sat down to join them.

“Yeah, it’s not like it’s that busy anyway, and nobody usually wants any of the extra services until later in the evening,” Anita said with a shrug.

Stella turned to grin at me and Jess. “Happy birthday, girls! So, I take it that you’re all down here to get a feel for how things work in the club while you eat?”

“I guess you could say that,” Melody replied as we all slipped into the booth, and she took her place at my right side. “I told Merriwynd that after I eat, I’ll shadow her for a bit while she teaches me how to be a proper bouncer. I guess when we get busy, like on the weekends, we really should have more than one.”

“Mom and Pandora suggested I do the same with one of the bartenders for a while tonight. I won’t be serving any drinks tonight, but they’ll show me where everything is and let me watch while they work,” Jess added.

“And I figured that I might as well watch a few shows and get a feel for what it’ll be like when I’m the one on stage,” I agreed. “I’ve been learning a lot from the three of you, but this place is really different when there are customers and stuff.”

“That’s true,” Adora agreed. “On Sunday, before the party, we’ll need to let you get more practice in. Maybe after the party too. We should probably start going over the rules of the club with you, and the list of extra services and the rates for them as well. If you’re really good, those rates are just guidelines though. Some of our wealthier clients can be pretty generous with their tips on top of paying for our services.”

We had a nice dinner with the sisters, but despite Jess and me being of legal drinking age now, neither of us had anything harder than regular fruit juice. The Succubus triplets told us that none of the dancers or other employees drank, at least not on nights we were working. If any patrons offered to buy us entertainers a drink, we would accept but order a Savannah Sunset.

That was a code for the bartenders to mix a fruity, yet non-alcoholic, drink that looked like something you would get at a tropical resort. Then they would rub a little vodka along the outer rim of the glass to make it smell alcoholic to those with sensitive noses. I tried one while we ate. It had a sweet and fruity taste and came with a little umbrella, a slice of lime, and a straw. I was told that it was important to drink from the straw to avoid the vodka on the rim.

Once we were done eating, we got to our respective tasks. I watched the various dancers on the main stage and the mini stages for almost two hours to try to get a feel for the practicalities of being an adult entertainer at a club like this. I tried to mostly stay out of the way, but a few guys took interest in me, and I had to tell them, “Sorry, I’m not working tonight.”

I wasn’t sure how much I was learning, but I definitely came away with a desperate need to get out of my clothes and to get properly fucked by the time Melody and Jess came to get me so we could head upstairs. At least I managed to not show my frustration too much as I put Selina to bed for the night. When that was done though, I half dragged Melody off to my room to satisfy both of those needs until we both passed out.

Friday morning, we had Melody teleport Carmen, Jess, and me to school by way of the Infernal Plane, one by one. Each time she stopped in the Infernal Plane for a moment to catch her breath, and to ensure that our school uniforms, and everything else with us, picked up the distinct scent of smoke and sulfur. I did not like the Infernal Plane, it was quite literally Hell, and I liked smelling of the place even less, but I needed to show the headmistress that when I said I would do something, I was going to stick with it.

Still, the smell had me wrinkling my nose and fighting the constant need to get out of my clothes. Wearing clothes was bad enough, but wearing stinky clothes was as irritating to my Nymph sense of vanity as it was to my aversion to clothes in general. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

My first class of the day was Home Economics with my sister, but as we were on our way there, the PA system came on and the headmistress’s secretary announced, “Attention all students. There will be an assembly in the auditorium before classes begin. Please make your way to the auditorium.”

Ten minutes later, the entire student body was gathered in the auditorium, with Headmistress Collins standing on the stage with a microphone in hand. It was a little crowded, but the smell of hellfire convinced our fellow students to give our little group of four plenty of space. Once the general din of noise lessened, the headmistress said, “Good morning, students.”

“Good morning, Headmistress,” came the discordant reply of the student body.

“Yesterday afternoon, a student’s car was vandalized in the parking lot after school. Hateful slurs were painted over it, and the parking lot security cameras were damaged to prevent us from identifying whoever committed this crime. If anyone has any knowledge, or evidence, of who did this, please come forward. Not only will vandalism of other students’ property and destruction of school property not be tolerated, but the hate speech used goes against the values of coexistence and acceptance that St. Michelle’s prides itself on from our students,” the headmistress announced.

If she was waiting for one of Delilah’s minions to come forward here, then I had the feeling this would be a very long assembly. I guess that she realized that as well since, after a lengthy silence, she sighed into the microphone and said, “That will be all. If anyone wishes to come forward regarding the vandalism, you can come to my office any time.”

With that, we were ushered out of the auditorium and sent to our regular classes. Delilah looked so damn smug when we got to Home Ec. The only thing that little announcement had succeeded in doing was in letting that bitch know that she had gotten away with what she did to my car.

We were baking chocolate chip cookies today in class and, while Jess and I had fun with that, Delilah and her partner, Mallory, did not. It seemed like they were having a hard time dividing their dough into proper cookie portions, almost as if it were frozen solid. Yeah, it was a little petty of me, but it was just a taste of what was still to come for her. As for me and my sister, we got the taste of a very small victory and cookies.

We had P.E. next, but thankfully, we had plenty of backup there, so Delilah wasn’t brave enough to try anything, even when we were on opposite teams for volleyball. Unfortunately, enough students were changing with us that I wasn’t willing to do anything obvious either, though I was sorely tempted to try. The thought of freezing her underwear, while she was wearing it, made me smile, but I didn’t act on it.

Magic class with Carmen and Ms. Norstrom was next for me, while Melody was off to learn more about the joys of Death magic, and my sister and her girlfriend headed to shapeshifting class. Ms. Norstrom was teaching Carmen and me how to stay focused on our goal and picturing the results that we wanted in our minds. We had to be the Light within ourselves, picture the results as we directed that magic, and have the focus and determination to stay on task until it was done.

It was a lot like want my mom had started teaching me with Divine magic, but I found that it worked well for my Ice magic as well. I had a lot of power, Ms. Norstrom said that I was probably the strongest magic user of any type attending the school thanks to being a Muse, but she was trying to teach me the focus and control that I sorely lacked. This was only our second class with her doing actual magic practice, but I felt like I was making progress with both of my elements. When I had better control, she would start teaching me specific ‘spells’ and how to use my magic more creatively.

During lunch, Jess and I shared our cookies from Home Ec. with our friends while Delilah glared daggers at our table. The other girls from Auto Shop were glaring right back at her and they all wanted to make her pay for what she did to my car. I quietly told them that I had it handled though since I didn’t want them getting in trouble for me.

In Art class, I started noticing a pattern when the teacher had me sit on the opposite side of the classroom of Delilah and her two closest stooges. The teachers had been told about our ‘rivalry’ and were trying to keep us apart. That was probably why Jess and I were placed at the workstation in the back corner of the room while Delilah and her partner were placed by the door in Home Economics, and why Delilah and I were the two captains choosing teams for volleyball in gym class. I wasn’t going to complain about it if it kept her out of my hair in classes since it wasn’t like I asked her to try and make my school life miserable.

Another thing I noticed was that none of the teachers were too happy about me and those close to me smelling like hellfire. It came up in every class. Each time though, I innocently told them that we had to get Melody to bring us to school through the Infernal Plane since I couldn’t count on my car being safe at school.

I actually got to enjoy Art class for once, but I was happy when it ended and I could go to the library for Study Hall, my last class of the day. Jess and I mostly talked quietly and worked on our homework for the weekend until about halfway through class when I excused myself to go to the bathroom. Once I was in a stall with no cameras to watch my every move, I got to work.

First, I went to Sal’s little corner of the Fire Plane, but I didn’t stop to socialize before teleporting again, this time close to the school parking lot. Because I was paranoid, I checked for any other means of surveillance and froze over the lenses of the supposedly defunct cameras, just in case they really were working still, and then I made my way to the red Viper that stood out like a sore thumb in the parking lot. As I walked, I focused every bit of mental fortitude I possessed on the ice and snow in and around the parking lot.

I didn’t have much time if I wanted to make a bathroom break believable, so I kept my mental imagery as simple as possible as I worked my magic with all the power I could muster while trying to keep it subtle enough that nobody in the school would sense what I was doing. The parking lot was far enough away from the school that I thought only Ms. Norstrom might be able to sense my magic, but she was teaching me, and she was a fricking Divine elemental and probably even more powerful than me and my mom.

I pictured four walls, each eight inches thick of solid ice. Each would be eight feet high, none of them physically touching the Viper, but a handspan away from the front, back, and sides of the vehicle. Keeping it simple helped to keep it quick, so five minutes later Delilah’s vehicle was completely boxed in, and I was making my way through the Fire Plane and back to the bathroom stall.

I made sure to flush, even though I was the only occupant, and as I was washing my hands another girl came in to use the facilities. I tried not to smile as my alibi was established and I left the bathroom to return to the library, Jess, and my homework. Jess arched an eyebrow and obviously knew I had been up to something other than taking a leak but kept quiet for now since we weren’t the only students here and Delilah probably had ears everywhere.

When the bell rang to set us free from our final class of the day, Jess and I gathered our things and headed back to our lockers. I was glad that I had taken Study Hall since I could get a lot of my homework out of the way. That would free up time when I wasn’t in school to spend with Melody, Selina, and Jess, not to mention the rest of our new family. I was also going to have less time available for that kind of thing once I started working at the club in the evenings, and doing my homework in Study Hall would help free up a little time I wouldn’t have otherwise.

I could also use Study Hall to take care of other things, such as my little side trip to the parking lot to entrap Delilah’s car. I would have to be careful about doing things like that too often during that period though, or they might decide to watch me a little closer. Still, I had been careful this time around so, hopefully, the headmistress could not do anything about this.

I had been very careful to go about my day, as usual, today up until Study Hall and had witnesses and the school’s hallway and classroom cameras to account for my presence all day long. Even in Study Hall, Jess and I had sat in full view of one of the library’s cameras. The only time I wasn’t within view of the cameras was in the bathroom, and the only time I had gone there alone was for just over five minutes and the cameras would attest to me entering and leaving the bathroom. I even had witness that I was in there, if needed.

With the cameras in the parking lot not working though, the headmistress couldn’t prove I did anything, even if I was the only Ice magic user in the school. I knew for a fact that I wasn’t, even though I was the only one taking magic classes this semester. The school also didn’t know about my ability to travel through the Fire Plane since we were trying to keep the Salamanders, and the abilities they gave us, a secret.

At most, they might think that I colluded with Melody to pull this off when I went to the bathroom, but that would be quickly disproven. Not only did she not even know what I was up to since I didn’t want this coming back to anyone who I was close to, but she was in her catchup session with Mrs. Jenner while Jess and I had Study Hall. I dare anyone to go against the word of a psychic who was spending that whole period one-on-one with my girlfriend while downloading knowledge into her brain.

Pretty much everyone at school would know that I did this, but it was a prank, and I hadn’t defaced or even physically touched her car as she had mine, so no crime was committed. With no witnesses, physical proof, or video or photographic evidence except for the cameras showing me inside the school all day, any of Delilah’s friends who came forward as ‘witnesses’ wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. So, if Headmistress Collins didn’t embrace double standards and held me to the same rules and the precedent she had established with Delilah, her hands would be tied.

Melody was already waiting by our lockers when we got there, and it looked like she had another headache from her session with the psychic teacher. I checked to ensure no teachers were watching and gave her a quick kiss before announcing, “I am so happy to be out of here for the weekend.”

“Hey, Babe,” the half-Demon replied as she smiled at me, though it seemed a little forced. “Yeah, I hear you there. I could definitely go for a few days without feeling like somebody put my brain in a blender, and without us having to deal with crap from Delilah and her friends.”

I barely managed to cover a giggle at the mention of Delilah’s name, and even though I could see that they were curious, neither my sister nor my girlfriend pressed me on what was so funny. They both were giving me looks that said they knew I was up to something, but probably didn’t want to question me about it. They knew I probably couldn’t resist the compulsion to tell them the truth and they likely didn’t want anyone else overhearing it here in the hallway.

Once we had all grabbed our coats and filled our backpacks with what we would need for the weekend’s homework, we headed off in search of Carmen and Rose. Melody was supposed to be Carmen’s ride home with us and my sister needed a bit of sugar from her girlfriend before we all headed home. With Jess being at her bartending certification class all day tomorrow, the pair likely wouldn’t see each other until the party on Sunday.

Thankfully, Rose’s locker wasn’t too far away from ours and Carmen was already with her, Alison, and Bella since Alison was giving Bella and Rose a ride home. We had told the other Auto Shop girls about Carmen transferring into our class at lunch and they were looking forward to having her come with us to the wrecking yard. The plan now was to help Carmen pick out a good vehicle to work on and then we would all start parts shopping.

While Jess and Rose were getting all touchy-feely, the rest of us started to talk with Carmen about what she was looking for in a vehicle so we could have some idea of what she might like. It was as we were doing that when every one of our phones dinged with a message from our discord group.

Mermaid Mayh3m: OMG! You girls have to see this! I’m streaming it now.

FeyoftheWood: This is hilarious! I wonder who could be responsible?

Nikki was streaming video from her phone of Delilah freaking out in front of the ice walls that were boxing her car in. She was ranting extremely loudly that ‘that Snow Nymph bitch’ must be responsible for it while students in the parking lot stopped to look, take photos, or video like Nikki was doing. Beside me the others were laughing, Bella was laughing so hard that she had to wipe away tears, so I allowed myself to join in as I watched the school’s queen bee freak out.

In the video, Delilah reached into her purse to snatch up what was probably her phone, and less than thirty seconds later she was yelling at someone. Less than two minutes after she shoved the phone back into her purse, there was an announcement over the PA system. “If Crystal Cummings is still in the school, please report to the Headmistress’s office.”

The others gave me a sympathetic look while I just sighed and rolled my eyes at the fact that Delilah likely had the headmistress on speed dial. It wasn’t surprising since when researching her, Melody had discovered that her father had made some big-time donations to the school. I was hoping to put this off until Monday and groaned at how quickly this had happened.

“That was fast,” Jess muttered darkly.

I sighed and shrugged. “Well, since I’m still here, I might as well get this over with so I can enjoy my weekend.”

The entire group followed me without a word as I made my way to the office. I was touched by the solidarity and support, and Bella was rapidly typing messages into our Discord server to let the others know that I had been summoned. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the receptionist looked over our group and said, “Go on in, Crystal, but just you. Your friends will have to wait outside.”

Okay, so this was to be an interrogation then. Obviously, the headmistress wanted me alone so nobody could interrupt, and she could question me directly. Fey can’t lie, everyone knows that, and I’m not the actress that my sister is, but I could handle this. As Aunt Merry said, I don’t have to answer immediately, and selective truths are my friend.

I stepped through the door into the office and closed it behind me before sitting in one of the seats across from a very agitated-looking headmistress. “You wanted to see me, Headmistress? We were just about to go home.”

There were no pleasantries from her, just an immediate start to the interrogation. “What did you do to Delilah’s car, Crystal?”

“Nothing,” I answered both immediately and completely honestly. I hadn’t done a thing to her car since I specifically formed the walls around it and ensured they wouldn’t touch.

The woman on the other side of the desk frowned darkly at me. “I just had a very heated talk with Delilah, and she says that you encased her car in a block of ice. Do you have any knowledge of this?”

“No, Ma’am, that is absolutely untrue,” I countered in my defense. I did not encase her car in ice, I surrounded it with ice. Big difference. As for my knowledge of what happened, thankfully, Nikki had provided me with an out. “I did see a video of what looked like a block of ice in the parking lot and Delilah freaking out. One of my friends thought it was hilarious and streamed it to the rest of us. We were watching it when you summoned me.”

“Crystal…” the woman across from me let out a long sigh. “Part of the reason you’re here is because your Ice magic is very potent. As it stands, you are the only one in the school who could have done this, and you had motive as well. Now, please, tell me what you did.”

I ignored her request since it was not a direct question. Instead, I told her simply, “I’ve only had a total of two lessons. Power isn’t everything. Do you have any witnesses or proof to back up Delilah’s claims?”

“You know very well that the cameras in the parking lot won’t be fixed until Monday, Crystal,” she said with another sigh. “I will be having security check the hallway and classroom cameras to be sure you didn’t leave the school today though. So, now would be a good time to admit what you’ve done.”

“It seems like that’s the fault of whoever fried the cameras to desecrate my car in the first place,” I pointed out. “Let them check the cameras, it’ll just show that I didn’t leave the school. The teachers were paying special attention to me and Delilah today so I couldn’t have left my classes without them knowing, and I was with my friends in the cafeteria all through lunch.”

She seemed undeterred and pressed on. “You had Study Hall last period; did you leave the library for any reason?”

“Only to go to the bathroom,” I replied. Unmentioned was that I briefly left the school from the bathroom. “When I came out of the bathroom, I went straight back to the library. The security cameras will show that too.”

“Magic users with a strong connection to their elements can travel through the Planes connected to their elements like Melody did to bring you to school. Can you do that with the Frozen Plane, Crystal? Did you use that ability to leave the school while you were in the bathroom?”

“I wouldn’t know, I haven’t tried,” I admitted. “Even if I could, I wouldn’t do it. I was warned by both my mother and Ms. Norstrom that the Frozen Plane is extremely dangerous. And before you even try bringing Melody into this, she was with Mrs. Jenner while I was in Study Hall. I would love to know how she could get out to help me do what you’re accusing me of while she had a psychic in her head and messing with her brain the whole time.”

“I was… aware of that, Crystal,” she said with yet another weary sigh. Meaning that she had checked in with the psychic to be sure Melody wasn’t involved before I arrived.

“Do you have any other pointless questions or accusations, or can I leave now?” I snapped. “I get the distinct feeling that Delilah was not subjected to this kind of Inquisition when my car was vandalized. So, unless you have some sort of actual evidence, I think it’s time for me to leave.”

“No, I have no more questions,” she said, and I couldn’t tell whether she was sad or relieved that I seemed to be in the clear. “I do have a request though. I would like you to help Delilah to free her vehicle from the ice.”

The balls on this woman! I was absolutely livid as I told her very directly, “No.”

“What?” she asked as her brows rose in surprise at my refusal.

“No,” I repeated. “Meaning, there is no way in Hell that I’m going to help her with anything after the way she’s treated me and my friends since we started at this school and what she did to my car. There is no school rule saying that I have to either, so you can’t make me. She can use Daddy’s money to solve the problem, that seems to be what she usually does.” As I said the last, I gave the headmistress a pointed look.

She actually shifted uncomfortably in her chair under my glare. “Crystal, I…” Whatever she was about to say was lost as her phone rang. Looking down at the screen, she rubbed at her temples as if she had a headache. “I should take this, it's security, so it’s probably important. Just give me a moment, Crystal.”

With that, she connected the call. “Is this about the footage from last period? I was expecting it to take longer. No? Wait, what do you mean, she set it on fire? Dammit. I’ll be right there.” She disconnected the call with a sigh and turned to me to say, “You can go now, Crystal.”

She escorted me out of the office before hurrying toward the stairs that would take her to the first floor. My friends who had accompanied me were waiting outside and currently laughing their collective asses off. As the headmistress scurried off, I asked, “Okay, what did I miss?”

“De-Delilah got Mallory to… change to her true form a-and used her flames to try to free her car!” Bella managed to get out through her laughing and wheezing as Jess passed me her phone.

It looked like Nikki was still streaming. No, she had one of the others take over because I could see her along with Ms. Norstrom and anyone who had Water magic trying to put out the flames that had completely consumed Delilah’s car. Standing off to the side, I could still see Delilah and it looked like she was trying to smother the flames with her magic as well. That wasn’t going to be easy though, even with Ms. Norstrom there helping because right beside the furious Fire Mage, I could see a red-skinned, demonic-looking girl with fiery wings, black horns, and flaming hair who was wailing apologies.

It just figured that Mallory was an Efreeti. She was the perfect gal pal for Delilah. Efreeti are Demon offshoots connected to the Fire element instead of Death, though like their Demon counterparts, they’re versatile shapeshifters. I thought she was just a Fire Mage like Delilah. The school probably wouldn’t let her use her true form inside the school because it was too dangerous for other students and would probably set off the fire suppression system. They’re practically made of fire, and their flames burn hot and are notoriously difficult to put out. Not as hot as a Salamander can get, but pretty damn close.

“Wow, well, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” I mumbled as I watched the very expensive car doing its best impersonation of a botched campfire marshmallow on my sister’s phone. I didn’t have anything to do with this turn of events, and I hadn’t wanted to damage her car but since it was my ice she was trying to melt when this happened, and it was done by her own hand, I couldn’t help but feel some satisfaction that Delilah was getting her just desserts. Yes, this made us even, at least for now. She would undoubtedly do something else to earn my ire soon enough.

I handed the phone back to my sister as she inquired, “So, what’s the verdict, Sis? Are you getting detention, suspended, or something?”

“For what? I didn’t touch Delilah’s stupid car, and there’s no evidence to prove otherwise. Even if they look at the security footage, they won’t see anything to indicate that I went outside at any time today. She’s also well aware that I couldn’t lie during her little interrogation, and she was asking some very pointed questions too in her attempts to incriminate me,” I replied with a shrug as I tried to hide my relief about the way she had phrased one of those questions.

Headmistress Collins had specifically asked if I could travel through the Frozen Plane. With me being a Snow Nymph and all, it was the most logical assumption. If she had asked if I could do that through another Plane, I probably would have been screwed.

“Well, I guess we should all go home then if you’re not in trouble,” Alison suggested. “My car is on the other side of the lot, so we should probably be able to safely leave as soon as they get the fire under control.”

“Maybe I should see if I can help with that,” I said with a sigh. While I hadn’t been willing to help free Delilah’s car, putting out a fire was a different matter. People could get hurt and cars nearby could be damaged too. I didn’t want someone else to suffer because of the row I was having with her.

Melody leaned in to kiss me, but once our lips parted, she shook her head. “I know you’re probably thinking about other people right now, but that would be a bad idea, Babe. Delilah would definitely make a scene if you showed up to help and I wouldn’t put it past her to lash out with her magic either, with an Efreeti standing right there with her. There aren’t any other vehicles near the fire, most of the ones nearby were moved before she got the bright idea to melt all that ice. Those that weren’t already, were moved with magic when your magic teacher showed up to try putting out the fire.”

“Yeah, I don’t trust Delilah not to do something stupid, especially after that show,” Jess added with a grimace.

Rose turned to grin at me and Jess, “It’s nice seeing that bitch get what she deserves though, and even better that she did it to herself. Oh, and don’t worry about missing the entertainment, Crystal. While Nikki was streaming from her phone, Nova has been filming the whole thing on hers so she can send it to all of us later tonight. I’m gonna watch it before bed for some sweet dreams.”

I shook my head and tried not to smile. The murder bunny could be vicious when provoked and we had all been plenty provoked by Delilah and her crew this week. She was really starting to grow on me as a friend. “I guess we should get going home then,” I conceded. “Smelling like hellfire has had my brain itching all day to get out of these clothes and get a shower in, and we already showered after P.E.”

Melody nodded, not looking happy about the smell either as she sighed. “Yeah, I’m used to the smell, but it’ll take a few washings to get it out of our clothes, and at least a couple of thorough showers to get the hint of it off us. It fucking lingers and overwhelms other scents, and it’s not how you want to be smelling in public places. We really need to figure out something else for getting to school and back home.”

With that, we said our goodbyes, and Carmen, Melody, and I promised to see Bella and Alison tomorrow, bright and early, at Alex’s wrecking yard for a day of fun. Then Melody took us home one by one, though she made sure to take us through the Fire Plane this time so we wouldn’t have to worry about the smell of hellfire getting even worse before we could wash it off. Carmen and I could have just gone by ourselves while my girlfriend took Jess, but we were still under the watchful eye of the school’s hallway security cameras and didn’t want to give away that secret.

As soon as we got back home, we all got out of our stinky clothes and had a shower while Aislinn took our school uniforms and undergarments for a very extreme washing. Laundry fell under the purview of the housekeeping staff, and the Selkie and her Brownie cohorts had been expecting this when they found out how we would be traveling to school for the foreseeable future.

It took a long shower and vigorous washing before I stopped smelling hellfire. It wasn’t all bad though since I also managed to get a few nice orgasms from my handheld showerhead and took the edge off the day’s building horniness and the need to be naked for a while. By the time I was done, everyone else had already finished and were hanging out with Sorcha, Lou, and Selina in the common area watching TV and chatting while Selina played with Sorcha.

That evening was spent much like the previous one. We continued to hang out with the others until they had their dinner and then went down to the club for a couple of hours to have our own dinner, learn more about working there, and do some job shadowing. It was busier because it was a Friday, but for us, it was mostly a dull night watching other people work, and nothing really interesting happened until after we headed back upstairs so I could tuck Selina into bed and say goodnight.

After saying goodnight to Selina, I returned to my room with Melody to work off some of my frustrations in bed. Not only had my horniness and need for some kind of relief from it been constantly building all day long, but there was more than just my usual horniness getting to me. The whole day was stressful overall, and I really needed to relax and get my mind off shit.

Between not being able to drive to school for fear of what might happen to my car, that useless assembly first thing in the morning, the teachers watching me and Delilah like hawks all day, and the stink of the Infernal Plane on my clothes making my desire to take them off even more annoying and poking at my Nymph pride, I had a pretty spectacularly shitty day at school. The only highlights were looking over my project car and the prank on Delilah. Then there was the interrogation with the headmistress.

That wasn’t easy with everything else on my mind and her asking some very direct questions. I hadn’t expected to hear about the prank before we could leave school, and to be called straight into an interrogation. I had to stay alert and make sure that I used selective truths to not implicate myself and it took almost as much mental focus as the prank itself had to ensure I could tell the truth when stating that I did nothing to her car, at least directly. Sure, I had come out of it okay, and she couldn’t pin anything on me, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t stressful.

I tried not to let on how bothered I was by certain things once Melody and I stepped inside my bedroom and closed the door behind us. I really didn’t want to kill the mood for either of us now that sweet relief from my urges was in sight. It seemed that my half-Demon girlfriend had gotten to know me well enough in the past few weeks that we had been together though to tell when I was stressed, and my mind was wandering.

She swept me up in her arms, something that still felt weird sometimes, and placed me gently on my bed. Why was it weird? There were a couple of reasons actually, the first being that she was roughly the same height as me, but more compact. I easily outweighed her with my… more bountiful assets and she didn’t look all that strong, but that Demon strength of hers made her able to carry me like I weighed barely anything.

The other reason was that I had been a dude less than a month ago, and while often found myself enjoying her attention and chivalry, she was freaking princess carrying me to my bed. As much as I loved her and had gotten used to being a girl and a Nymph, sometimes being the obviously submissive and feminine one in our relationship still mentally threw me for a loop. Don’t get me wrong, I love our relationship and being her girlfriend, but things like this still caught me by surprise sometimes, especially when my mind wasn’t focused on the moment, like now.

Still, I found myself smiling back up at her as she gently placed me on the bed and lovingly caressed my cheek and lips. “Rough couple of days, huh?” she asked as she gazed into my eyes and continued her gentle caresses. Yep, there it was, she had read me like a book.

“Yeah, you could say that. All this shit with Delilah at school has been getting at me, even though I try to keep my cool,” I agreed with a sigh. “At least it’s over with now and seeing her destroy her own car was very therapeutic, plus we have the weekend ahead of us now. Shit, who am I kidding? This shit is probably just going to escalate from here. I may as well have openly declared war against her since everybody knows it was me, even if they can’t prove it.”

“Is that what has you so worried and distracted tonight, Babe?” she asked as she kissed me chastely and reached down to take both of my hands in hers. She seemed to realize that I needed to talk some things out, so she was showing affection while trying not to make me even more turned on than I already was.

“That’s part of it,” I admitted, “I’m upset about all that, and that I got interrogated when Delilah walked away with no consequences for what she did to the Charger, but what good is being upset going to do? It’ll only mean that she’s getting to me and winning, and I won’t let her win.”

“Don’t get mad, get even,” she quoted with a lazy smile. “You did pretty well at that today. You were a bit of a mess yesterday when we found your car vandalized like that, but today you put that behind you and focused on making her regret messing with you. You even did it well enough that everyone knew it was you, but you were able to avoid anything more than the interrogation for lack of evidence. You must have kept your cool when she was questioning you too since you can’t outright lie.”

I told her with a shake of my head, “That interrogation wasn’t fair, but I kept my cool until she had the nerve to ask me to free Delilah’s car. Planning ahead helped a lot though, and thinking about her questions before answering too. I had a little bit of good luck with the way she phrased her questions as well.”

“So, then just keep doing what you did today if this escalates. You can get upset in the moment, but you should try to focus on being prepared for your counterattack, and what might happen after, rather than getting upset over it from here on out. You have no real control over how Delilah reacts to this and can only really control your own actions, right?” my girlfriend gently suggested as she squeezed my hands in hers.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I conceded before giving her a quick kiss to show my appreciation. “I’m not gonna let her live rent-free in my head, but if she tries pulling something else, I’ll retaliate in kind until she gets the message to back off or does something stupid enough to get caught.”

“I think that’s a good mindset to have in this situation,” she agreed. “You said that was only part of what was bothering you though, so what else is there?”

In truth, this was something that I wasn’t sure that I wanted to bring up with Melody. We both knew that I wasn’t really built for monogamy and would be working at Pandora’s Box, both as an entertainer and providing the extra services that the club was known for, and she seemed okay with that, but I didn’t want to rub that in her face either. So, I wasn’t really sure how to bring this up with my girlfriend, or even if I should.

I wanted our relationship to be built on openness and honesty though, much like Mom’s and Pandora’s seemed to be. Finally, after a couple of minutes of serious thought, I let out a long sigh and told her, “When I was shadowing Rhissa down at the club tonight, it made me think about some things.”

Most of my time shadowing the Huldra on the job tonight had been fairly standard, boring even. How to do makeup properly for when we were on stage, watching her dance along with other people in the club, and observing how she interacted with the club’s patrons, both on and off the stage. The latter involved how to politely turn down a patron’s proposition if she wasn’t interested, how to show them when she was interested, and how to engage them and draw them in and give them a little confidence if needed.

The latter happened with a large group of Paranormals that had come in to celebrate one of their birthdays. The birthday boy, a very shy Knocker who was turning twenty-one and likely still a virgin, was very uncertain when his friends paid for some time with Rhissa for his birthday. He had been casting bashful, and horny, glances at her for an hour until his friends noticed and propositioned her for him.

That got me thinking. I was technically still a virgin, for all intents and purposes, and while I would always consider my first time to have been with Melody, she hadn’t done anything to pop my cherry, for lack of a better turn of phrase. She had used fingers on me before, but not very roughly or deeply and Rhissa had assured me that if she had managed to break my hymen then I would have known from the sharp pain and the blood. She might have when I had my period and I just didn’t notice, but it was unlikely since we both wanted to avoid anything penetrative or oral with me during that time because of the gross factor.

I didn’t want to have my first time with a guy, or to pop my cherry, with some stranger who was just paying for my services for the night. I would prefer to do that with someone I knew and cared for so that it could be somewhat memorable and special. I also wanted to have at least a little bit of experience under my belt before doing the extra services, and even as horny as I usually was, doing that sort of thing for the first time with a stranger just didn’t sit well with me.

My thoughts were interrupted as Melody inquired, “What kind of things?”

So, I told her about what was bothering me, and why, and she didn’t interrupt or even look at me any differently than with the love and affection that had shown on her face since she carried me to my bed. I finally finished by adding, “It’s not like I even know very many guys well enough, and those I do know would make it really awkward. Jack, Brock, and Derek are all happily married to women who live here with us too, and Lou is a minor still. Doing anything with Lou would probably make our friendship super awkward too since we just found some common ground to bond over with the car stuff.”

A conflicted expression settled upon my girlfriend’s face, and it suddenly felt like my heart, which felt like it was lodged firmly in my throat the whole time I explained things, suddenly dropped into my gut like it was made of lead. I suddenly felt so stupid for getting all of that off my chest. Yes, I had been honest with her, but of course, she would be upset hearing about me thinking of having sex with some strange dude.

She must have seen the panic and regret on my face because she immediately leaned in to kiss me and gently soothed me. “It’s okay, Crystal. Calm down, okay? I… maybe… I can help you with this.”

“Help me?” I asked in confusion as my errant heart skipped a beat at her kiss, touch, and reassuring tone. What, did she have some secret stash of sex toys that I didn’t know about and was talking about a strap-on or something? I didn’t think that she would know any suitable guys that I didn’t, and even if she did know some guys like that, they would still be strangers to me, and that was the whole issue.

For a moment, her only response was to let go of my hands, pull away, and start taking off her clothes. Her body language had changed completely though, and it still had me worried that I had upset her with my little confession a moment ago. She was stiff and rigid rather than as at ease as she usually seemed, and her usual confidence had been replaced by a confusing uncertainty as her hands had a slight tremble to them while she removed her clothes.

“Melody… what’s wrong?” I asked, my voice catching at her sudden change as she got down to her underwear.

When I reached up to grab her trembling hands, preventing her from unfastening her bra, she looked at me sadly and let slip a long sigh of resignation. “Demon shapeshifting,” she explained with a rueful smile. “I may not be able to change my mass, like your sister, but I can… change my gender if I need to.”

I gaped at her and felt a little stupid for not thinking of that earlier, but I was so used to Jess’s limitations for changing her shape that I didn’t even consider the possibility with Melody. “You can do that? Why does it look like the idea doesn’t appeal to you?” Back when I was Seth, I would have loved to find a willing girl as pretty as I am to have sex with, but obviously, my experience isn’t exactly normal.

There was a distant look in her eyes as she said, “Yeah… I can do it. I’ve done it before. I spent a few months like that when I was fifteen and living on the streets before I started getting regular contract jobs. Like Selina, I discovered that it’s just not safe for a girl to be homeless and alone on the streets. If it wasn’t for my demonic abilities…” She trailed off for a moment before adding, “I guess I thought I would be safer as a guy; I just didn’t account for how weird it would feel.”

“Weird?” I asked. I had been perfectly fine being a guy, but then I felt so much more comfortable after I Manifested and became a Nymph. The only weird part for me was the mental transition that I could be comfortable like this, but again, my experience was hardly what I would consider normal.

“It felt wrong, being a guy and having people see and refer to me as one, and it got worse the longer that I stayed that way. It was like I wanted to rip off my skin so I wouldn’t have to deal with the mental discomfort and anxiety about it anymore. So, I changed back to normal and developed my Surie Rourke persona to keep other Paranormals from getting any ideas. Who would mess with a cold-blooded killer, right?”

For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. The words were caught in my throat. I had never considered that Melody might have had to deal with things like Selina was going through when we first found her, she always seemed so confident and self-assured, especially when she talked about her time as a contract killer in the Paranormal community. Seeing her vulnerable like this was a little bit jarring for me.

I wrapped her up in the tightest hug that I could manage, and softly kissed her horns, her ear, and anywhere else I could reach to assure her that I was there for her. “My love, if it makes you that uncomfortable and brings up bad memories, then I’ll figure something else out. The last thing I want to do is make you feel like you described. I’ll… I’ll talk to Lou and his mom. Genevieve offers the extra services at the club too, so I’m sure she would understand and be okay with it if I ask, and Lou’s a guy, so he’s a horndog who probably wouldn’t say no to a night with me.”

Melody wrapped her arms around me to return the hug but shook her head. “I can handle it for a few hours, Babe, it’s just the memories that it brought up aren’t good ones. This… this could be a good memory though, for both of us. I’ve never tried sex that way and, who knows, maybe I’ll enjoy it.”

She didn’t sound very confident about that though and I was worried that she might resent me later for it. “I… I don’t know, Melody. I don’t want to make you feel like that. The way that you described it…”

“I want this,” she said, cutting off my protest before it could fully form. “I don’t care about the discomfort; I want to do this, to be your first time with a… with someone who is physically male. You’re my girlfriend, and I want to be the one to pop your cherry before anyone else gets a chance to be with you that way. The thought of Lou, or anyone else, taking away something that should be special for you when I could be doing it instead… I won’t let that happen. This way, it’ll be the first time for both of us.”

Before I could argue any further, she pulled me into a passionate kiss and I was so distracted by the sudden surge of pleasure and carefully repressed desire that ignited within me as I reciprocated, that I was barely conscious of her changing shape in my arms and against my lips and probing tongue. It was the sensation of something very insistently poking me in the thigh as she broke the kiss that shook me out of the blissful daze that she had put me in, probably to distract me and get me thinking with my instincts instead of my higher brain functions. No fair, using my instincts against me!

For a moment, all I was aware of was that poking sensation and the damp heat that was soaking through my panties as the fires of desire burned within me. Melody pushed me onto the bed, and quickly got out of her bra and the panties that were now straining against the rock-hard erection that she, now he, was sporting. I found myself looking up at a very different Melody standing over me.

Well, not that different, but certainly where it counted. He could have been Melody’s brother, having the same rose-gold colored skin, crimson horns, and dark hair but whereas Melody was the same height as me with a very slender figure, this male version was probably a good four inches shorter and slender in a more masculine way; not as thin at the waist, broader in the shoulders, and flatter in the chest. There was also the six inches of raging erection that was currently twitching and bobbing in front of my eyes.

I was conflicted. On one hand, some part of me was still worried that we might regret this later and that I shouldn’t just give in because I saw something that every fiber of my being wanted to get to know more intimately. The other side of me, the side that was burning with the need for sex that had been building up all day and now had a very willing and apparently eager participant, told that first side to go fuck itself, or better yet, let Melody do it because both sides were me and I obviously needed it.

I hadn’t even finished that very brief mental argument with myself before I was frantically pulling my clothes off. Why was I even still wearing those when I was at home and there was sex to be had? Part of me blamed humans, they were a terrible influence on me, making me go against my own instincts all the time. My top flew somewhere in the direction of my clothes hamper, followed quickly by my skirt and bra, and then my completely soaked panties which landed on the wooden floor with an audible, wet plopping sound. Even my panty liner had been soaked through.

Somehow, despite the inferno of desire within me, I managed to keep enough presence of mind to realize that this wasn’t just to satiate that desire, but also to help me learn some things for the next time I was with a man. Plus, this was Melody, and I wanted her, or him, whatever, to enjoy the experience as much as I hoped to.

Melody didn’t seem as dominant in this male form, which I later figured was because it wasn’t really comfortable for her, so while he hesitated, I took charge. Standing up, I pushed him onto the bed and then straddled his legs, my face flushed and burning like the conflagration of desire between my legs, and my breath coming in staccato huffs of nervous excitement. I wanted him so badly, but I needed to wait, I needed to think, which wasn’t really my strong suit at the moment.

Still, I managed to summon enough forethought to realize that we could both enjoy ourselves with a little change of position. With that in mind, I turned around, so I was straddling him in the other direction and lowered the dripping folds of my feminine slit to his waiting mouth while I gazed in wonder at the unfamiliar, yet so desirable, rod of hard flesh that was saluting me from Melody’s crotch. Melody’s tongue was as agile as ever and seemed to home right in on the sweet spot while he raised his hands to tease and caress my folds, causing me to shiver in mounting pleasure.

My hips bucked and squirmed under Melody’s attention, and it was a struggle to focus my fuzzy mind on what I wanted to do with the treat in front of my eyes. Tentatively, I licked the bulbous head, causing Melody to squirm beneath me, and then as I got feeling more confident, I took it in my mouth, teasing it with slow circles of my tongue as it darted over it inside my mouth. As I continued to do that, I tried to hold back the orgasm that I felt would be coming soon from Melody’s oral attention.

No, I needed to think, to make sure that Melody enjoyed this. What did I like when I was a guy? However, trying to dredge up what limited experience I had with masturbation back when I was Seth was proving increasingly difficult the closer Melody’s fingers and tongue teased me toward orgasm. I settled for gentle, yet firm, strokes of his shaft as I continued to tease the head with my lips and tongue.

I was barely keeping my mounting eruption of pleasure at bay as I tried to focus on making Melody feel good and was startled when he suddenly tensed up beneath me. “Wait is he…” I didn’t have time to finish that thought as the cock in my mouth twitched in excitement and suddenly there was an eruption of hot, salty ambrosia in my mouth. I had thought that it would taste horrible, or weird, but I liked it enough to eagerly swallow it down. The shock of the thought and the action was enough that I lost focus on holding back my own climax.

The seal of my lips on his manhood released with an audible pop as an orgasm tore through me like a hurricane through coastal Florida, causing my eyes to roll back in my head and my back to arch as I screamed out my rapture. My vision went white, and for a moment all that I could feel was the waves of agonizing pleasure that ripped through my body from my very core to the tips of my fingers and toes. Melody didn’t stop there though, he continued to lick, suckle, and finger me until I lost my mind in a barrage of orgasms, one after another.

Soon, I collapsed atop him in a dazed and shuddering heap as I savored the afterglow, and it was several minutes before my arms and legs no longer felt like Jell-O and I thought that I could get back up. I was partially satisfied, but I still craved more, and we still hadn’t gotten to the main event yet. I still had my doubts about this making Melody uncomfortable, now that I was thinking somewhat clearly again, but since we had already gone this far, I didn’t see the point in stopping now unless Melody specifically asked me to.

Unfortunately, he had gone flaccid while I was recovering from orgasm overload, but I was pretty sure that I could get him up to the challenge again. New confidence soared within me as I repositioned myself so he couldn’t distract me, as much as I would have enjoyed more climaxes like the ones that he had just instilled in me. I took his limp dick in my hands and mouth and began to lovingly caress, lick, and suckle on it, starting to take it deeper into my mouth as it began to stiffen once more.

A shudder tore through Melody, and he stammered, “T-teeth… no teeth.”

In response, I tightened the seal of my lips and tried to ensure that my teeth were no longer scraping against the shaft or head as I bobbed my head back and forth and tried to take as much of it as I could into my mouth and down my throat. Guys like deep-throat action, right? Apparently, Melody did when like this, at least enough that he was soon rock hard again, and despite nearly gagging a couple of times, I managed to get his full length into my mouth before I determined that he was ready for round two.

Letting his temporary schlong free with another audible popping sound, I told it playfully, “Stay!” Then I crawled over the rest of Melody, pausing to kiss her, as I reached into my night table for a condom. His face and lips were wet and sticky with my juices, but I tasted good, and I wanted to show Melody some love and affection for what he was doing for my sake.

No, not he or him. I couldn’t think rigidly in terms of biology only, that would be an insult to her, especially since I was no longer dazed with desire and orgasms. This was still Melody, and as uncomfortable as she said she was with being in a male form, she would always be a woman inside no matter what form she wore.

I broke apart our kiss and stared dreamily into her slightly different eyes as I awkwardly unwrapped the condom, telling her, “I love you. You’re too good to me.” Then I silenced her reply with another kiss and shuffled backward to put the condom on her twitching penis. It took a moment to get a feel for it and roll it on properly since I had no previous experience in this type of thing, but soon we were ready to go, and I was trying to position the head at my entrance.

I hesitated as my sex hovered above hers, worried. I wasn’t worried about getting it in since I was leaking like Niagara Falls but about Melody. “One more chance, my love. We don’t need to do this if you’re uncomfortable with it.” Sure, I was raring to go and wanted nothing more than to impale myself on that hard cock beneath me, but my feelings weren’t the only feelings that mattered.

“I… I’m fine, Babe. Yeah, the body feels weird, and orgasms feel strange and different this way, but it’s still an orgasm. I want to do this with you, at least this first time,” she told me with a somewhat shaky smile. “I probably won’t want to do it again unless we want kids someday though… well other kids,” she added, thinking of Selina.

The thought of having kids should have scared me, but I found the thought making me all warm and fuzzy inside. It was nice that she thought we would last that long, that she was considering such a future with me. I also found that I very much wanted to have her babies someday, a thought that I never would have previously seriously entertained.

My cheeks turned a brilliant shade of Crystal Red TM and I found myself stuttering, “M-maybe some d-day.” I leaned in to kiss her again and after taking a deep breath to steel myself, and to allow Melody to do the same, I slowly lowered myself onto her hard member.

The head and the first half inch or so slipped in with no issues and a wet naughty slurping sound before I met some resistance. Another deep breath, just to feel the warmth of the organ and to ready myself, and then I pushed down harder, causing a slight tearing pain that made me gasp as I took all of her inside me and my hips met hers. “Are you okay,” Melody asked, her concern evident in both her eyes and voice.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine, it just hurt a little bit. I’m gonna try moving a bit,” I responded as I tried to process what I was feeling. The pain had been brief and sharp, but it was duller now, barely even noticeable. Instead, I was focused on the feeling of fullness. There was a dick filling me up and it felt… kind of amazing. It was like it was meant to be, and every instinct that I possessed was screaming at me to ride that dick and get it to fill me up baby batter.

Oh fuck. Not only because that was what we were technically doing now as I began to roll my hips to feel Melody’s cock slide in and out, filling me up over and over, but also because that was going to be a lot to mentally unpack later. Seth may have left the building, but I was still learning who Crystal was, and this was bringing up things that I had never considered before.

I tried to put it out of my mind and just focus on enjoying what we were doing. Not that doing that took much effort. This felt incredible, and while I still preferred making slow love to Melody as a girl or having her dominate me, this was something that scratched an instinctual itch that I had been trying to deny since I Manifested. I wanted more.

Caution, and any thought toward the pain I was feeling from my burst hymen, were thrown to the wind as I began to eagerly ride my half-Demon girlfriend, bringing us both ever closer to our eventual release. I came quickly, so turned on by what I was doing that I barely savored the afterglow and, when it passed, I found that my instincts had kept me going, furiously riding cowgirl style in my need to bring her to climax and have her release herself inside me.

I was burning with need and the thrill of mating until finally Melody stiffened beneath me and her cock twitched inside me. The feeling of that, and the satisfaction and pleasure of making my mate climax, was almost primal and caused me to scream out like a whistling teapot as another climax tore through me like an earthquake, my back bowed, and I finally collapsed atop her. It was some time before the aftershocks passed through my very soul and I snuggled against her, feeling her now soft manhood still nestled comfortably inside me.

When the warm fuzzies of sex finally passed, I started to become aware of the world around me once again and loosened my grip on Melody, allowing her to pull out of me so she could return to her normal and more comfortable form. I was sore down there, and there was blood when I finally had the energy and the presence of mind to clean up the mess we made of my bed, but I was so damn satisfied. I was also very tired, given what just happened on top of how mentally and emotionally exhausting the past few days had been.

Still, as Melody and I snuggled in bed after cleaning up, I found that I couldn’t sleep for a while. That was the best sex I had ever had, it made me feel complete and satiated my Nymph instincts like nothing else I had done before. Was it like that for all Nymphs? How did Mom deal with it, and the temptation for more, and have a relationship that worked with Pandora? It was only after I decided to talk to Mom about it that I finally fell asleep, held tightly in Melody’s arms.

That Saturday morning, I found myself very distracted by what had happened the night before. It wasn’t that I was regretting it or anything, I had enjoyed every second of our romp last night after all, and having Melody be the one to claim my virginity in both ways just seemed right to me. As much as I had enjoyed our girl-on-girl sex though, I had never felt that bone-deep sense of completion though, and that bothered me. Was I going to enjoy having sex with strange men more than I did with the girl I loved? The thought of that made me feel dirty inside.

As distracted as I was though, I still tried to treat it like any other morning. I allowed myself to enjoy the spray of the pulse setting of my handheld showerhead enough to deal with what little desire had built up overnight and got a few nice orgasms out of it. Then, as I went through the rest of my morning beauty and self-care routine I divided my attention, as usual, to give Cinder some affection and mental snuggling while I talked to her about what we would be doing today.

My symbiotic Salamander was alert and awake more often now and, while we still couldn’t communicate in anything close to a real conversation, her emotions were starting to feel clearer, and I got the sense that she was getting stronger. I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be long before she could manifest herself physically, at least for a short time. Once she was able to do that, we could start getting used to it and work up to teaching her to fly and breathe fire. Going by what Grundle had told us though, it would probably still be a couple of weeks before she could build up a proper flame.

After I had finished my morning routine, I went to see if Selina needed help with hers, as I had gotten used to doing almost every morning. She didn’t really need help since she was thirteen years old and could handle most of it herself, but I also knew that she valued every minute that she could get with her ‘Momma’ and particularly liked it when I brushed and braided her hair in the morning before we headed down for breakfast. This morning, we had to rush it a little though since we were gathering for breakfast an hour earlier than we usually did on the weekends.

Well, at least some of us were up early. Most of the dancers still weren’t awake yet, or hadn’t finished their morning routines, by the time Carmen, Jess, Selina, Melody, and I took the elevator down to the club to get our early breakfast. The five of us had reason to be up early though, and since Brock and Cindy were usually awake by now anyway, they had agreed to have an early breakfast ready for us before they got started on the big breakfast spread for the rest of our big family.

My sister needed to leave soon for her bartending training and certification course, which would be going on all day long. Fortunately, Mom and Pandora were allowing her to use the club’s truck today so she wouldn’t need a ride there and back. As for the rest of us, Carmen and I had agreed to meet our classmates from Auto Shop early at Alex’s wrecking yard to look for a project car for her and parts for the rest of us. Melody would be coming with us since she was my bodyguard, and I had asked Selina to come along too so she could spend some more time with me and the other Auto Shop girls, and maybe learn a few things as well.

Cindy was already setting the table in one of the booths with utensils, jam, maple syrup, and other stuff and smiled as we approached. ~Brock is just finishing your breakfast now, girls, if you want to come to the kitchen.~

Minutes later, we were all seated at the table and filling up on our morning meal with Jess and Selina getting somewhat normal serving sizes while those of us who were hosting Salamanders had larger platters due to our increased appetites and metabolisms. I noticed that Brock and Cindy had tried to load us all up with some of our favorites, though I couldn’t have as much red meat as Carmen or Melody due to being Fey. Still, my platter was loaded up with three breakfast sausages, a big stack of blueberry cinnamon pancakes, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, a banana, and an apple and we had both milk and orange juice to drink.

Brock and Cindy couldn’t hang out and talk with us since they had to get started on the breakfast spread for everyone else living at the club, but we were kind of rushing to finish our meals anyway. Jess had to hurry to get to her class since she would need to rely on the truck’s GPS and wanted to give herself enough time to find the place. She was finished, saying her goodbyes, and heading out before the rest of us were finished. Sorcha and Aislinn came down with Jack and Jill not long after Jess left and then some of the dancers from the club started to trickle in, including Mom and Pandora, when I had just finished wolfing down my breakfast.

Thankful for the good timing, I told Melody, Carmen, and Selina, “I’ll meet you in the garage, I need to talk to Mom for a minute before we go since she’s here.”

Melody nodded wordlessly and led Carmen and my daughter to the elevator while I tried to pull Mom aside before she and Pandora could join the others at the booths. “Hey, Mom, do you think we could talk for a minute? I need to ask you something.”

“Of course, my little snowflake,” she replied with a warm smile and a hug. Then she quickly excused herself and gave her fiancée a quick kiss before leading me closer to the stage where we could talk privately and inquired, “What’s on your mind, Crystal?”

I took a deep breath, twirling a finger in my long, white hair nervously as I awkwardly said, “Well, umm… Melody and I had sex last night.”

An amused giggle worked its way free from my mother’s smiling face. “Is that supposed to be news? The two of you have been regularly entertaining one another in your bedroom since before Selina came to join us here. You haven’t exactly been keeping it secret, unless…” she left that unfinished for a moment as her eyes widened slightly. “Demon shapeshifting?”

The last came out somewhere between a question and a statement and I nodded in response, my throat tight as I considered how to ask her about this. I decided that it would be best to lead up to it, so she had some idea of what I was thinking and what had happened. “I… yeah, I was a little nervous about starting to work at the club soon and offering the extra services. I didn’t want my first time to be with some guy I didn’t know for money. I wanted it to be… special.”

My mother nodded in understanding. “I can understand that. With our urges and self-control issues, most Nymphs don’t get that luxury. You are fortunate to have had your first time with a man to be with someone you care about. You used protection, right? I think one child is enough for you for now,” she joked, but I could tell that she was genuinely worried.

“Yeah, Mom, I made sure to use a condom for the… umm… main event, and I’m still on birth control too,” I assured her, causing her to breathe a sigh of relief. “Melody was sweet doing that when it makes her uncomfortable. She doesn’t like being in a male form, I guess, but she did it for me and might consider it again if we ever want kids. I… just… does it always feel like that with a guy?”

“Feel like what, Snowflake?” There was a healthy measure of confusion on her face, which I guess wasn’t all that surprising since I hadn’t given her much context.

“I… well, I usually love having sex with Melody, sex is amazing in general, but last night was different. It wasn’t just amazing; it was like I felt… I dunno… complete, or fulfilled or something,” I admitted awkwardly. “I’m kinda worried about it now. Am I going to enjoy sex with random guys more than with Melody from now on? How do you make your relationship with Pandora work with you both being women?”

My mother’s expression softened as she took my hands in hers and gave them a reassuring squeeze. “Oh, Crystal, it’s okay. Let me explain a couple of things. As Nymphs, our instincts are strong, and our compulsion and desire to have sex is a big part of that. On an instinctual level, we want to be bred, we want to have babies. With that in mind, sex with males inherently scratches that instinctual itch and usually feels more satisfying. I stress the word ‘usually’ though. Other factors can change that.”

“What kind of factors?” I asked, looking at her nervously as she kept a firm but gently hold on my hands.

“Love, affection, and your lover’s competence are the most important ones,” she told me with a loving smile. “If you’re with someone who is finished quickly and gives you no time to reach your own climax, well, you obviously aren’t going to enjoy it as much. Love and affection can increase the pleasure that you get from sex though. You love Melody, and instinctually, that makes you see her as your mate. Even though she was wearing a male form last night, it was still her, so it’s no wonder you felt that way. I felt the same with your father. Sex with males might be more enjoyable for us in general than with females, but unless you deeply care for the person who you’re with, it likely won’t have that pronounced an effect on you again.”

“You’re sure, Mom?”

“Of course, I am, my little snowflake. At most, it’ll just be very enjoyable sex that scratches more instinctual itches than usual when you’re with a man. While satisfying, I can get just as much satisfaction with Pandora because she’s my chosen mate. I love her, and being with her makes everything better, including sex. I’ve seen the way that you and Melody look at one another, there is no doubt in my mind that she makes you as happy as Pan makes me, so stop worrying over something silly,” she chided as she wrapped me up in a tight hug and kissed me tenderly on the forehead. “Now go have fun, I know that this hasn’t been the easiest week for you.”

I hugged her back just as tightly, glad that Aunt Merry had brought us here so I could have her in my life. “Thanks, Mom, I will. I love you.” I spoke the words quietly and gave her one last squeeze before stepping away and heading to the elevator to join the others in the garage.

“That is just viscerally satisfying, isn’t it?” Melody remarked with a face-splitting grin as we looked over the burnt remains of what had once been Delilah’s car.

When we arrived at the wrecking yard, we found the other girls from my Auto Shop class gathered around the burned and gutted remains of what had once been a very expensive 2022 Dodge Viper Shelby. Curious about the vehicle when Delilah first started showing up at school in it last semester, Trixie had done some research on it. It was basically a concept car that would never see mass production and not very many were made, which meant that it had come with a massive price tag attached. I guess that said something about just how wealthy Delilah’s family was.

Now it was a worthless piece of junk. The flames that she had used to free it from the ice were so hot that, even if anyone was interested in restoring it, it would be a task well beyond our meager skills and limited equipment. Most of the body panels were partially melted, the frame was warped from the heat and would have had to be rebuilt from the ground up to not crumple completely in an accident, the windows were shattered from the sudden and extreme temperature shift, the interior was a lost cause, and the electronics were likely fried as well. It would take a literal fortune to restore the vehicle.

The fire had been bad from the start, but the gas in the vehicle igniting had only made things worse by fueling the flames. The body was barely recognizable, and from the look of the damage, I doubted that this car’s corpse would even be useful for parts. There certainly wasn’t anything that any of us could use, and I would not recommend it as a project for any of us on its own since replacement parts would be either damn near impossible to get or more expensive than any of us could hope to afford. As Melody had suggested though, I was viscerally satisfied at seeing Delilah’s car this way.

“Yeah, it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person, and that’s a whole lot of money down the toilet, but she did it to herself. What was she thinking, using an Efreeti’s flames around her own car?” I muttered as I looked the vehicle over.

“An Efreeti’s flames? Well, I guess that explains a lot of the damage then, the fire gutted most of this,” Alex said with a sad shake of his head.

“Yeah, this is a useless hulk,” I agreed as I looked over the vehicle. “So, why are we standing here then? We’ve got a car and parts to pick out.”

That was met with cheers from the other girls in my class, even Carmen, who was starting to get into the idea of taking a junker and somehow getting it working with our help and Mrs. Svenson’s guidance. Alex nodded and looked over Selina, Carmen, and Melody as he asked, “So, which of you is the new student I was told about?”

Carmen shyly raised her hand and answered, “That would be me. I don’t really have much experience with this kind of stuff yet, but I want to learn, and the others have offered to help me where they can.”

Alex nodded thoughtfully as he rubbed at his chin. “Well, most of these girls wanted a challenge and there are some vehicles here that, while they may take a lot of effort and learning on your part, would make a good starter project for someone without much experience. Let’s go have a look.”

The car that Carmen ended up choosing was a blue 2011 Kia Optima SX Turbo. She thought it was cute and sporty, but the biggest factor was how easy it would be for her to get the parts needed for it. The frame and body were actually in pretty good condition, except for some front-end damage.

It had been written off because of that damage, and because the engine, and transmission needed work done as well. The replacement panels, hood, front bumper, and parts would be easy to get because there was a car of the same model that had been rear-ended by something big going fairly fast, making that car a lost cause. None of the work needed was stuff that we couldn’t help her with or show her how to do properly if we could just replace the transmission and engine entirely by tearing them down in the less fortunate vehicle and rebuilding them for Carmen’s.

We spent the rest of the morning looking for compatible parts for our project cars, though I couldn’t find much for my GR Supra because it was only a couple of years old. Alex was able to help me find some stuff that would work, but it was mostly small stuff like fasteners, bolts, and other small stuff that would be relatively easy to find. It wasn’t surprising, and I was already planning on going to Auto-Worx Parts ‘n Mods to get the panel, grille, and other parts that I knew I would need, and maybe some after-market parts as well. I had been looking over the specs and already had some things in mind to make the car a beast on the road.

Since there wasn’t much for me to get for my own project, I helped Carmen start to gut the other Kia Optima for everything she would need to get her project on the road again. I was careful to tell her and Melody how they could help and what to be careful with so we wouldn’t damage the replacement parts. It was cute how clueless the two of them were about the inner workings of cars, and their inexperience using tools in general. It wasn’t surprising though because Carmen had never shown much interest in cars before now and Melody’s idea of a tool was that hand cannon and other weird items she kept in her massive purse.

I tried to have Carmen do as much of the bodywork as possible, under my direction, but I had to show her how to do almost everything. She complained about the cold at first, but the work quickly warmed her up. Luckily, that work mostly consisted of removing panels, the front bumper, grille, headlights, and hood on both of the vehicles so they could be swapped, and she would have some idea of how to replace them once we had all of this stuff at the school for class. I mostly looked over the engine and transmission and grabbed what she would need to get them back in working order since I wouldn’t have time to fully tear them both down and do a full replacement in the wrecking yard.

While I was acting as Carmen’s assistant, Selina was talking with Nova and helping her gather parts for her Toyota Camry. Mostly that consisted of Selina carrying stuff for her and putting it in one of the plastic bins we had all been given to put our smaller parts in so Alex could inventory them and assign a value to them to go against our budgets. Still, it was nice to see that my daughter and the Nereid were getting along well enough that she was comfortable helping her without me watching over her.

We all knew that we were probably going to be spending a lot of our weekend time coming back to the wrecking yard for parts as our projects went on and we discovered new things that needed fixing or replacing. Taking apart engines and other important components was not something that could be done in one morning after all, though Alex did have some tools that would help things go smoother for us. Still, breaking down junked vehicles for replacement parts was going to be a constant thing for most of us, until we were finished getting the vehicles road ready.

I wouldn’t have to do as much of that kind of thing since I was going to have to order new parts. The bad news was that it was also going to be more expensive for me because of that. The good news, on the other hand, was that I would be able to get my parts relatively easily, even if I had to pay for them out of pocket, and that would speed up my repairs significantly, depending on how long it took me to break down, clean and rebuild the engine. Since I couldn’t take the Charger to school, the sooner I could get the Supra working, the better.

It was nearly two o’clock by the time that we were all hungry and tired enough to call it quits for the day and bring our spoils to Alex to look over and charge to our budgets. Once he had processed everything, we all headed to Clarice’s parents’ cafe to have lunch together and talk about how our projects were going. “So, what are you going to do about your project, Crystal?” Trixie asked.

“Yeah, I noticed you didn’t have much in your bin. Not that that’s surprising since that GR Supra isn’t very old,” Bella agreed.

“I’m going to have to order parts from Auto-Worx Parts ‘n Mods,” I told them with a shrug. “They should be able to order the panel and other parts I need, and I’m thinking of modding it a bit too since I’ll be working on it anyway. I’ll probably stop there before heading home since I want those parts as soon as I can get them. It’ll be pricey, but far less expensive than buying a new car. I’ve got enough of a nest egg that I can afford it right now, and I’ll be making good money at the club soon too.”

~What kind of mods?~ Nikki asked in sudden interest, her eyes lighting up as she smiled. ~Are you thinking of adding NOS, like you did on the Charger?~

“I might later if I decide to race it and can get a proper roll cage for safety, but I’ve been looking over the specs and for now I have a few things in mind. I’d like to get a high-flow downpipe for the exhaust, cold air intake, and an ethanol flex-fuel kit to improve performance. I’ll have to tune the engine, but I was planning on doing that anyway when I rebuild it.”

We continued to talk about our project cars and tomorrow’s party at the club, but by four o’clock, Melody and I figured it was time that we should get going. We both had more job shadowing to do that night, and I wanted to go order the parts for the Supra while the thought of the repairs was still fresh in my mind. So, we headed off to do that before heading back to the club.

There was a marked change in Selina from when we were hanging out with the other girls to when I dragged her, Melody, and Carmen parts shopping with me. While she was starting to get comfortable, and even becoming friends with the Auto Shop girls, the parts shop was a nest of potentially dangerous strangers to her, and it showed. She had her usual glamour on from the moment that we left the café until we got home, and the whole time that I was looking for parts or talking to the salesman she clung to me, practically hiding in my shadow.

I couldn’t really blame her after what she had been through before we met, and it felt good that she was as comfortable as she was with our family at Pandora’s Box, and getting closer to our new friends. Still, this was something that I would have to keep in mind for the future and it made me doubly glad that she seemed to be getting particularly close to Nova and Bella. My timid daughter would need friends when she started high school next year, and I knew that they would have her back.

The parts shop did have the parts that I thought I was going to need to fix the engine and drivetrain in stock, as well as the headlight, but I had to order the new front bumper panel in the proper color as well as the grille and the mods that I wanted, though I had been expecting that. I was told that the parts would likely arrive within a week, so I was very happy and felt like I had accomplished something as I drove us back home.

Jessica got home not long before we did and seemed pretty happy with herself too. My sister had gotten her certification, so tonight she would be helping one of the regular bartenders and mixing drinks under his supervision instead of just shadowing. As soon as she shared that bit of news with us, I wrapped her up in a hug. “Congrats, Sis. It looks like you’ll be having more fun than me tonight since I can only watch and learn still.”

Not long after that, it was time for us to head down to the club so my sister could work, and Melody and I could watch and learn from our respective trainers. My girlfriend would be learning from Aunt Merry, as usual, while I would be shadowing Mom tonight, something I was feeling both excited and a little awkward about. So, after arranging dinner for Selina, we headed downstairs while Carmen and Lou offered to hang out with Sorcha and Selina and keep them company.

Jess looked very studious and serious whenever I looked in the direction of the bar she was at tonight, and I knew from her expression that she was trying to cram as much knowledge as possible into her head. Shadowing Mom wasn’t as awkward as I feared though, since I had already seen her taking off her clothes on stage and flirting with club patrons the past few nights, and it had somewhat desensitized me to seeing her naked, in various stages of undress, or fueling some stranger’s ego while I was watching.

It was actually nice hanging out with her during breaks and having her tell me more about the club and the little things that would help me when I started working on my own. A lot of the club’s patrons had noticed our familial resemblance to one another though and seemed very interested in me after finding out I was her daughter. Mom played it up and pointed out Jess at the bar too, telling people that we had just turned eighteen and how happy she was to be working with her daughters.

She insisted that Jess would only be tending bar though, and that I was still learning the ropes until I was ready to start performing by myself. Still, I had to give an unnerving number of rainchecks for extra services. Mom was one of the most popular dancers and ‘companions’ in the club after all, and she had just let people know there was going to be another Nymph available soon, so of course people were going to be interested.

I tried to be as polite as possible while promising to show them a good time once I was officially working, stroking their egos a bit like I saw Mom doing. She seemed pleased with how I handled the attention, and it was kind of nice to have so many people showing an interest in me. It soothed my Nymph vanity, even if it was making me extremely horny.

Overall, it had been a nice day, especially when compared to the last couple of days at school, and I was feeling pretty good about things when I headed back upstairs to spend some time with Selina before putting her to bed for the night. When Melody and Jess came up a little later, we hung out in the common area with Lou and Carmen for a bit, just enjoying each other’s company for a while. Before long though, I couldn’t take being so damn horny anymore and dragged Melody to my bedroom so she could have her way with me.

Things in bed were different than the night before, but not in a bad way. Sure, it wasn’t as deeply satisfying on an instinctual level with Melody being a girl again, but it was satisfying in a very different way. Melody was a very adept lover after all, and I was in love with her. She was also much more dominant, which pushed a lot of the right mental buttons on me, at least when I was with her. We were in love, I was hers, we were together, and she was very good at satisfying me in bed, and that was all that I needed to be truly happy at the moment.

Sunday morning, I got to sleep in a bit, at least compared to usual since breakfast on weekends was at nine instead of seven-thirty and I had nothing else pressing to do early this morning. The Dicken sisters did want to try and get as much stage practice as we could for me today, but we wouldn’t be starting until after breakfast. That would give us at least a couple of hours before our friends started showing up for my and Jessica’s birthday party.

I woke up without the aid of my alarm before eight o’clock, despite intending to sleep in until then, and then slipped out of Melody’s embrace and hurried through my morning self-care regimen, taking the extra time to work off the slight horniness that had built up overnight and to make sure I looked my absolute best. I didn’t need to worry about picking out an outfit since Jess wanted us to match today and had carefully chosen the outfits we would wear for the party last night. Since I didn’t want my clothes all sweaty from dancing and such when the party started though, I wouldn’t be changing into them until before the party guests were due to arrive.

So, after changing into some simple exercise clothes, I went to check on Selina, help her with her hair, and spend some time with her before heading down to the club to join everyone for breakfast. The meal was abuzz with the relaxed conversations that usually dominated Sunday morning as people discussed how their week had gone, anything interesting that had happened, and what they would be doing for their day off. Today though, the latter mostly consisted of talking about the birthday party this afternoon since everyone planned on attending to be there for me and Jess.

As soon as we were done eating, the Dicken sisters put me to work. Stella and Adora worked my ass off, making sure that I could get through the pair of stage routines that I had been practicing whenever we had time since just before Christmas. Stella, who had come up with the choreographies for me, was watching carefully and making any corrections when needed while Adora was making sure that my movements and little flourishes were as flirty as possible and had maximum sex appeal.

I bowed to their experience, but neither had to correct me nearly as often as I feared. In fact, I had improved a lot in the last couple of weeks, even though I didn’t have as much time to practice this week because of school. Stella seemed pretty pleased as I put my clothes back on for what felt like the twentieth time that morning and handed me over to Anita for my pole dancing lesson.

I was doing better with that too, at least I thought so since I was able to pull off some of the trickier maneuvers that Anita was teaching me and didn’t fall on my head or anything. To be fair though, I hadn’t had any major fails like that since my second day learning from her. I was starting to get used to using muscles that I barely realized I had or thought about while pulling off tricky maneuvers or hanging from the pole in difficult positions without using my hands.

Anita was beaming as we finished just after eleven o’clock and enthused, “You’re getting so much better on the pole, Crystal! If we get more practice in tonight and an hour of practice over the next few nights, you could probably be ready for the stage by Friday. There’s a pole for practicing in the exercise room on the second floor we can use so we have some privacy, and if we do it early in the evening the club won’t be too busy, so I won’t be missing out on anyone wanting the extra services.”

“That’s a great idea, Sis!” Adora agreed. “I don’t mind taking a couple of hours while it’s quiet to help Crystal refine her technique and get ready for the stage. It’s not live you need to do more job shadowing, Crystal. I think you’ve figured out how everything works by now.”

“Yep, you have the routines I’ve been coaching you on pretty much down, Crystal. I think Anita is right, if we can get you some practice in costume after the party tonight, and an hour of practice each night after, you could be ready for the stage by Friday,” Stella concurred after a moment of thought. “Lana already has a few costumes ready for you, whenever you’re ready to start.”

I wasn’t quite as confident as the three Succubae. “Do you really think I’ll be ready that soon?”

“Yep,” Adora cheerfully informed me with a shit-eating grin. “The morning practices over the holidays really helped, you’ve almost got all the moves down, and you look damn sexy while doing them.”

Stella nodded as she added, “If you’re not ready for Friday, we can always give you more time. The club isn’t exactly advertising you as one of our entertainers yet, so it’s not like it’ll be a big deal. I think you’ll be ready though.”

“Are you nervous, Crystal?” Anita asked with a look of concern.

“Maybe a little,” I admitted reluctantly, “but I’m kind of eager to get started too. I just don’t want to make a fool of myself on stage.”

Adora frowned at me and shook her head as she said without a hint of doubt in her tone and expression, “You won’t, Crystal. You’ll be ready. The first time is always the hardest, but I know you’ll do fine if you just let your training take over, relax, and have fun.”

With that vote of confidence, the three sisters shooed me back upstairs so I could get ready for the party that was due to start in less than an hour. As soon as the elevator door opened on the third floor, I hurried to my room, stripped out of my sweaty exercise clothes, and jumped into the shower to clean off the sheen and scent of two hours of exercise. I only stopped to put on a shower cap so I wouldn’t have to wash and dry my hair again.

Once I was clean and smelling a lot nicer than when I went in, I quickly patted myself dry and put on my sexiest bra and panties. I didn’t plan on anyone seeing me in them, except maybe for Melody, but at least wearing something sexy didn’t aggravate my compulsion to get naked as bad as the usual stuff. The need still gnawed away at the back of my mind, of course, but it wasn’t quite as bad.

Then I put on the outfit that Jess had decided on last night. It was a simple, powder blue, silk halter top and black pleated miniskirt with a pair of three-inch stiletto heels. The top hugged my chest like a second skin and showed off my bare midriff and belly button bling while the skirt and shoes would make my legs look amazing. My hair was brushed out carefully, but Jess and I had decided to keep it loose today instead of braiding or something.

I got back downstairs to the club just in time to see Mom magically reapplying the Salamander tattoo to my sister for the upcoming week. She had already finished doing so with Selina as well and putting just enough Divine magic over Carmen’s real Salamander mark to make it seem like an illusion. Mom’s hair was already the usual aquamarine hue that she changed it to when pretending to be a River Nymph and dealing with patrons at the club or anyone who wasn’t in the know about her being a Muse.

I guess that everyone had done some decorating while I was in the shower too. There were already pink and ice blue balloons set up on some of the booths near the kitchen and on the bar too, though the bar also played host to a large and colorful ‘Happy Birthday’ banner. It looked like a party without being too juvenile, which I was kinda relieved about.

The first guests to arrive were Rose, Alison, and Bella, and they all looked around the club in keen interest once Annika let them in, though Bella had trouble taking her eyes off the intimidating Amazon that had let them inside. When she did take a look around though, the redheaded Metal Mage said, “Wow, this place is kinda cool, I’ve never been in a strip club before.”

“I should hope not, at your age,” my mother said with a laugh. Bella was only fifteen, after all, the youngest of our new friends other than Nova. “The ambiance isn’t the same as when the club is open since there aren’t any customers and nobody will be getting naked. This isn’t that kind of party.”

“Mom, you already know Rose, and this is Bella and Alison. Alison is Heather’s daughter. Girls, this is my mom, Tiffani,” I offered by way of introduction.

My mother nodded as she looked over the Glaistig. “Heather’s girl, huh? I can see the resemblance, and I remember her mentioning that her eldest daughter was more interested in cars than taking over the family business someday.”

Alison rubbed the back of her head awkwardly as she replied, “She’s got my little sister for that. Phoebe hasn’t Manifested yet, but she should soon, and she’s already as interested in learning nail care, hairstyling, and other beauty-related stuff from Mom. Not that Mom needs anyone to take over the salon since we don’t age like the normies. Phoebe is eager to work there when she’s older though.”

Jess and I had just finished introducing the three guests to everyone who lived above the club when the doorbell rang again, and Annika went to answer it. Weird since we just got a message from Clarice on the Discord server that she and the others were on their way and should be showing up in ten to fifteen minutes. “Do you think maybe Clarice was just messing with us?” my sister asked.

However, the grim look on the Amazon’s face and the lack of girls following her inside made it clear that whoever was at the door, it wasn’t them. Annika came right over to where everyone was sitting in booths and chatting away. “Jimmy is here with some other people to talk with you and Crystal,” she told my mom with a frown. “One of the guys stinks of PDA bureaucracy and the other is Steven Devereaux with some girl who was ranting about pressing charges over damage to some car.”

I squeezed my phone in fury as I fumed, “It’s that bitch, Delilah.” There was no doubt in my mind about it. Somehow, she had one of her friends listening in while we were talking to the girls about the birthday party, and she was here to try to ruin our day. The bitch was trying to get me arrested during my birthday party.

Mom and Pandora immediately stood up, both of them looking almost as angry as I was as they stood up and led the way to the door. Aunt Merry, Annika, and Carmilla were right on our heels and looked ready to murder someone. Since they were probably the deadliest and scariest people I knew, I was both relieved and worried to have them there for what was about to go down. Waiting for us outside was Jimmy, along with three people who didn’t look very happy about being ordered to wait outside.

Jimmy cast an apologetic look my way. I had a feeling that I knew why he was here, and I was suddenly very glad that he was one of the only psychics working for the local PDA office who was versatile and powerful enough to read an unwilling person’s mind or act as a human lie detector. His being familiar with me was a good thing, and I knew that he was honest and a good enough person to not let things go too far.

Beside Jimmy was a human-looking man, a little portly and dressed in a dark brown suit and tie. The color matched that of his beady little eyes and rapidly retreating hairline. He looked like he had never smiled a day in his life, and I could feel the faint sensation of Earth magic on him. Annika was right, he practically screamed PDA administration, and I didn’t like the look he gave me when we appeared at the doorway. He looked at me like I was guilty, and this was just a formality. I wondered how much he was being bribed to be doing this at lunchtime on a Sunday.

Delilah was there, of course, hiding behind the third man with a satisfied smirk plastered all over her face. The man, who I had to assume was her father, had greying blond hair that was starting to thin and intense blue eyes set in a somewhat handsome face twisted in anger. He wore a black, tailored three-piece suit with a red tie and polished black leather Italian shoes. “That’s her, Daddy!” Delilah said from behind the man once she noticed me behind my mother and Pandora and pointed an accusatory finger at me.

Pandora, whose arms suddenly wrapped protectively around both me and Mom, immediately took charge, seeming to recognize one of the men. “What is the meaning of this, Steven? You know very well that the club isn’t open on Sundays and you’re interrupting our daughters’ birthday celebration.”

Awww, she said ‘our daughters’ which I guess meant that Mom’s fiancée was stepping up and making things official, maybe to try and protect me? I know that Mom hadn’t registered with the PDA until recently, but Pandora and the Club had both been registered for about a decade now since the club opened. Pandora and Carmilla, the latter of whom was right behind me with a hand reassuringly gripping my shoulder, both had a lot of pull with the local PDA office.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t the balding administrator who winced at her comment, but Delilah’s father. I quickly put two and two together and came up with… Wait, no fucking way! Delilah’s dad was a regular at the club?! The man’s anger was somewhat lessened as he swallowed and tugged at his tight collar. He suddenly looked very uncomfortable, probably afraid of being blacklisted at the club after this.

“Pandora, Tiffani… I didn’t know that Crystal was your daughter…” he started. “This is James Townsend and Administrator Robert Ross from the Paranormal Defense Agency. We’re here to question your… daughter about the destruction of my daughter’s car at their school and press charges.”

“Do you have evidence?” I spat, making my presence known. “Because Headmistress Collins already interrogated me, and she had none. Nor did I admit to doing anything when asked directly, and Fey can’t lie.”

That was when the worm of an administrator puffed up his chest. “Miss Devereux believes that you were involved. That’s why Mr. Townsend is here. He’s a psychic and can determine your guilt, or innocence.”

His words only caused Jimmy to give him a dirty look as the large man practically growled, “Are you telling me that there’s no evidence? It is against PDA policy for psychics to question people without evidence linking them to a crime and I know this girl, she’s a Snow Nymph, there is no way she could be involved with the fire damage that was made to the vehicle in question.”

“Jimmy, I’m telling you that it’s okay this time,” the weasel in the cheap suit insisted.

“The hell it is!” Jimmy snapped. “I won’t invade anyone’s thoughts without consent or substantial evidence that they were involved in a crime!” I knew there was a very good reason that Jimmy refused to do that. He had told me once when we were getting Selina’s paperwork and adoption stuff done that, even when it’s consensual, digging through a person’s thoughts and memories can be extremely painful, almost akin to torture if the person resists, which is usually the case. That’s why it’s only used rarely to learn specific and important details from people who already have enough evidence against them to prove them guilty.

“You want evidence?” I asked. “I have some right here, half the school witnessed it too.” With that, I loaded up the video of Delilah attempting to free her car from the ice and eventually melting said ice and setting her own car on fire.

Everything was quiet for a good ten minutes as the three men watched the video on my phone. By the time the video was over, all three men were looking at Delilah with varying degrees of anger and embarrassment. Delilah, still trying to hide behind her father, and not being at all successful, was suddenly looking very uncomfortable and weakly protested, “B-but, she was the one who froze my car in the first place!”

“I didn’t touch your car or do anything that would damage it, you spoiled bitch!” I snapped at my spoiled classmate. “I certainly wasn’t the one to set it on fire, you did that yourself. I would consent to having Jimmy read my mind to prove that I didn’t do anything criminal though, if you’re willing to do the same.”

“W-what do you mean?” she stammered nervously; her eyes wide as she gaped at me.

I took my phone back and flipped to the photos of my vandalized car before handing it back to Jimmy. “This is my car, and a lot of the slurs written on there are the same ones that she has publicly called me in school. She has been constantly harassing me since I started school at St. Michelle’s. There’s no evidence tying her to this since the cameras were damaged just before it happened, but I would love to be able to press charges against whoever did this.”

Delilah’s father’s eyes went wide as Jimmy flipped through the images. “Is that a…” I should have figured that he was a car nut if he bought his daughter a freaking concept car.

“A 1970 Dodge Charger R/T in pristine condition? Yes, it is. At least it was until that happened. It’s probably worth six figures to collectors, but to me, it’s worth a lot more than that because it was my dad’s, and I inherited it when he died. Working on cars and stuff was our thing and that car is very important to me. Ms. Norstrom managed to get the paint off before it set, but now I don’t feel safe parking it at school until I can be sure this never happens again.”

Mr. Devereaux glared down at his daughter. He was already angry when they arrived, but the video of Delilah destroying her own very expensive car, and now this, only seemed to focus that anger on her. It was probably also embarrassing as fuck to be brought here under false pretenses and then being made a fool of. Yeah, that was not a happy-looking man. I could sense the Fire magic in him bubbling dangerously from his anger even if there was no spark to set it alight right now.

“Delilah, we will be having a very long talk when we get home,” he said sternly before turning to me, Mom, and Pandora and pulling something from his suit pocket along with a pen. “I apologize for the interruption, ladies. My daughter has obviously misrepresented this situation to me. Hopefully, this will in some small way make up for the damage to your vehicle.”

He handed me a check for twenty-five thousand dollars and my eyes widened a moment before narrowing again. “If you’re hoping to keep me quiet with this hush money, don’t think it’s going to work. If your daughter keeps harassing me, I will pay her back in kind.”

The man who had briefly turned a glare back on his daughter shook his head and his expression softened. “No, it is simply to repay you for any trouble and damage that my daughter may have caused. Should she continue to bully you, I expect that you’ll stand up for yourself. I will be having a very long talk with Delilah about respecting personal property, and I will personally guarantee the safety of your vehicle at school from now on. Should anything happen to it, Pandora has my number, but I can assure you that nobody will touch it again.” The last was said with a pointed look at Delilah that had the blonde squirming and looking for a place to hide.

“Thank you for being reasonable, Steven,” my mother said as she placed a hand on my shoulder from behind Pandora, who was still between us and holding us both protectively.

“It was my daughter who was at fault, and she wasn’t being entirely truthful with me. Perhaps Victoria and I need to be more involved with her life. Come, Delilah, we’re going home.” Then, without another word he turned back to the parking lot, Delilah morosely following as he led the way to a red Lamborghini. Yep, definitely a car guy.

Jimmy sighed and said, “Sorry for interrupting your party, Crystal. I was told this was important, I can’t believe I had to drive into town for this.” He was openly glaring at the administrator.

“I was told she was guilty,” the man huffed.

“Yeah, and of course, you believed the spoiled little rich girl over the Fey who can’t lie. Gee, I wonder why,” I snapped, giving him both barrels with my own glare.

“Money, dear. Steven tends to think with his wallet, but he fails to realize that money isn’t influence,” Pandora said casually. Then she turned to look at the weasel of a man that Jimmy was still glaring at. “I will be calling the Chief Administrator and informing him of this little visit and the breach in protocols. I’m sure that Donald will be very interested in how you tried to force a psychic interrogation on an innocent girl without evidence and that he will be looking into this matter very closely. I assume we can count on your testimony, Jimmy.”

“Of course, Pan. I was enjoying my day off when I was called in for this bullshit, and I had to drive all the way into the city. He was very insistent that we had to be here at this time because he knew you would be here,” Jimmy grumbled at the back of the man who was now slinking off toward his car without a word of apology. “Happy birthday to you and Jessica, Crystal, I hope the rest of the party goes better.” Then Jimmy said goodbye and headed toward his own car. I was kinda hoping he’d stay, but it would probably feel awkward for both of us after what just happened.

With the two of them leaving, the girls who had been watching and waiting in Clarice’s car approached the doors of the club. They had arrived about halfway through the incident, but Clarice had figured something was going on and hadn’t wanted to interfere. “What the hell was that all about? Who were those people, and do I want to know why Delilah was here?” Trixie asked as she approached with Clarice, Nova, and Nikki.

Mom, Pandora, and the others who had been watching the exchange and holding themselves back from attacking the weasel of an administrator slipped back inside the club, leaving me to greet my friends. “The guy she was with was her dad and the other two were with the PDA. She came to ruin the party and tried to get me arrested. That video you sent helped a lot, Nova. Thanks.”

“Any time,” the Nereid replied, though her brow furrowed in anger. “I can’t believe that bitch would show up and try to get you arrested at your birthday party.”

“Yeah, especially without evidence. Even if the psychic they brought had read my mind it would have only proved I didn’t do anything to her car,” I said with a sigh as I led them all inside the club.

~Wait. They brought in a psychic, without evidence? Isn’t that…~ Nikki started to protest.

“Against policy? Potentially torture? Yes. Don’t you just love bribery? Don’t worry though, she’s going to pay for this, and not just because her daddy is pissed with her now for lying and embarrassing him,” I assured them. I would definitely be getting her back for this, in small ways. Death (or rather vengeance) by a thousand cuts.

Still, I was kinda thankful to Delilah’s father. He had given me a pretty awesome birthday present after all. It wasn’t the money, which I definitely wasn’t going to turn down while I had a kid to raise. It wasn’t even the promise of security for my car at school, though that was pretty cool too and I knew there was no way Delilah would let anything bad happen to my car now, not when she would be the prime suspect.

The best thing was watching that whole thing backfire in Delilah’s face and knowing that she was going to get hell from her father when they got home. I didn’t think that he would physically hurt her, which I wouldn’t have wanted even for Delilah, but she was in for a lot of yelling when she got home, and I got the feeling that her daddy would be paying a lot closer attention to her activities from now on. I managed a grin for Jess and everyone else as we got to the bar where Cindy and Brock were laying out a big, buffet-style lunch and asked, “Well, now that the drama is over, who’s ready to party?”

After the Delilah situation was taken care of, the party went a lot better with the buffet that Cindy and Brock had prepared for lunch. All our guests seemed to enjoy the food and for the most part, we just hung out and talked as we ate, which allowed Mom and the rest of our big family the chance to get to know Rose and our new friends better. Lou was a little awkward with so many cute girls that he didn’t know around, but the moment that talk turned to cars and our class projects, he relaxed and started to enjoy the conversation.

Clarice still wouldn’t reveal the vehicle that she was working on for Jess, telling my sister and everyone else who asked that she wanted it to be a surprise. I may have told everyone that I knew what she was working on and had approved of it for my sister and then quickly changed the topic to my Supra, something that Lou latched onto immediately. Still, despite the laughing, friendly chatter, and the smile I had put on my face, anger simmered inside me.

This beef that Delilah had with me was fine, so long as it was kept within the bounds of school. Well, not entirely since I hated bullying of any sort, but I was content to just give back as good as I got. I could take her catty comments and verbal abuse, but going after my car had been pushing things too far and made this feud personal for me. I had hoped that after destroying her own car to free it from my little prank, she might realize that screwing with me was only going to get her paid back in kind and that it wasn’t worth the effort, but things had not turned out that way.

Instead, she had escalated things further and taken things well beyond the school and its parking lot. She had come to my home. She had brazenly come to my home with a bribed public official to have me mentally tortured and charged with a crime I didn’t commit. She had tried to ruin my life and humiliate me in front of everyone I cared about, and during my 18th birthday party no less.

I wasn’t the only one who was faking a smile to not ruin the mood either. Mom wasn’t her usual cheerful self, Aunt Merry seemed uncharacteristically distracted, and Pandora and Carmilla had excused themselves as soon as we got back inside and were the last to join lunch and the conversation. I had cast a couple of glances over to the stage while eating and chatting, only to find the Succubus and the Night Princess in a very heated phone conversation with someone.

It looked like Pandora had put her phone on speaker so they could both be involved in the conversation and from the anger on their faces, I was pretty sure that I did not want to be whoever was on the other side of that phone call. Pandora was usually laid back but could be very domineering when she wanted to be and Carmilla was one of the scariest and most powerful Paranormals on the planet without being pissed off on top of it. The fact that someone had blatantly come after one of the ‘children’ in her family only made Carmilla even more terrifying.

Despite my efforts to act like everything was fine, my sister noticed that something was wrong. Of course she would, she knew me better than anyone, and the fact that I wasn’t the only one acting weird meant that she would have had to be blind and deaf to not notice. As lunch came to an end, Jess gave me a serious look and said, “Okay, what the hell happened out there, Sis?”

“Yeah, Babe, you’ve been really tense since you came back inside,” Melody quickly agreed with a look of concern. “And Pandora and Carmilla weren’t exactly subtle about going off to have a ‘private conversation’.

I should have known better than to try to hide anything from the two of them. After letting out a long and weary sigh, I told everyone who hadn’t been outside to witness things exactly what happened. I had already glossed over it for Clarice, Trixie, Nova, and Nikki, who had seen most of the encounter from the parking lot, but everyone else was understandably pissed off, especially my sister, Melody, Selina, and Rose.

My sister’s girlfriend looked ready to murder, but then, I learned that she was very protective of her friends, and she had already stood up for me against Delilah and her friends more than once. Bella looked similarly pissed, even though we hadn’t been friends for long yet, but we all knew that the redheaded Metal Mage had a temper that was probably far more suited to a Fire Mage. Her face was almost as red as her hair as she ranted, “That fucking bitch has gone too far this time! Hell, what she did to the Charger was too far, but this shit?!”

Clarice, who was sitting beside the hot-tempered ginger, put a calming hand on her shoulder. “Bella, calm down. What are you going to do? Attack her? Metal is weak to Fire and she’s older and has a lot more experience with her magic.”

“I don’t care, I don’t need magic to beat the shit outta her! Just my fucking fists!” Bella immediately retorted.

“You know she would love to press charges against one of us or prove that we’re volatile and dangerous. What she tried with Crystal only proves that, Bella,” Trixie interjected. “The best-case scenario if you attack her is just assault charges, but you know she’d get the best Paranormal lawyer money could buy to push for more. Do you want your magic sealed because you’re dangerous, or worse, to have Hunters sent after you?”

Pandora decided that it was time to take charge of things as she said in a clear and serious tone, “This is being handled, girls. Carmilla and I have already talked to the Chief Administrator for the local PDA office. As soon as Jimmy confirms what happened and files his report, the official involved will be dealt with and thoroughly investigated for corruption. I gather this isn’t the first time that questionable activities have taken place under his watch.”

“Donald is taking this corruption very seriously. He got the message when I told him to handle the matter, or I would,” Carmilla said with a frankly terrifying look on her face. I had a feeling that if she had to handle it, a certain administrator would end up very dead, and possibly anyone else who was involved as well. The thought of her ‘dealing’ with Delilah and her father was a pleasant daydream but sent chills of terror down my spine at the same time.

“As for this Delilah girl, we have Dannick already starting the process for representing Crystal and pressing charges,” Pandora announced. “False charges are a misdemeanor though, so she’ll likely only get a small fine and maybe some community service since her father has technically already paid you damages. Dannick is looking into a restraining order as well, but don’t get your hopes up on that, Crystal. It would be tricky with you attending the same school and sharing classes. If he does get one, it would probably only be for outside school grounds.”

“Enough of all this grim conversation,” Krysti interjected as the Kitsune waved her hands as if to brush away all the bad feelings. “This is supposed to be a party. If we all just sit here griping and brooding, then this whole party will be ruined, and that Delilah girl wins. It will be all about her instead of our birthday girls. So, let’s get our minds off all of this and have some fun. You can think about payback later.”

“Don’t get mad, get even,” Melody said after letting out a long, calming breath and wrapping her arms around me.

“Oh, yes,” Trixie agreed, a far too calm smile on the half-Fey’s face. “We will be getting even. This attack might have focused on Crystal, but it was an attack on all of us. We can decide what to do about Delilah later, but for now, the Kitsune makes a good point. Let’s have some fun.”

Mom decided that this was the perfect time for cake and presents, something that nobody else was about to disagree with. With that decision made, Brock and Cindy returned briefly to the kitchen, returning a couple of minutes later with a stack of small plates and a massive cake with lit candles. The moment that Brock appeared with the cake, everyone started singing Happy Birthday.

As was a tradition on our birthday, I sang my own version of the song especially for my sister, ending with, “You look like a bunny, and you smell like one too!”

Jess promptly rolled her eyes and tried to hide a smile as there was a smattering of giggles from our friends and little Sorcha. The Selkie found my version hilarious, but she was only four. I was paying more attention to the cake though, since I could feel the coldness of Ice emanating from it. Was that an ice cream cake? Brock and Cindy knew my taste too well, not that I had hidden my love of ice cream from anyone. It really was the perfect treat; cold, creamy, and delicious.

The cake was big and rectangular, and I expected that there would be leftovers for a while, not that I minded. The icing was mostly white with light blue piping and had the outline of a cute little white bunny with light blue snowflakes all around it to represent me and my sister. In the corners and around the edges were eighteen evenly spaced candles.

Phones and cameras were quickly whipped out for photos as Cindy teased, ~Are you two just going to stare at it all day, or make a wish and blow out those candles?~

I looked at my sister even as she turned to me and matched my smile. ““On three?”” we asked each other in unison, causing a ripple of laughter to spread through our family and friends. The only wish I had at the moment was that Dad could be here with us and even though I knew it wasn’t even remotely possible, I still made that wish as Jess and I counted in unison, ““One… two… three,”” and we blew out the candles together.

The cake was indeed of the ice cream variety, a layer of chocolate and the other was mint chocolate chunk with chocolate sauce mixed with cookie crumble between the layers. Jess was a chocolate lover and so was I, but mint chocolate chunk was my favorite flavor by far. The cake was even more delicious than I hoped, thoroughly satisfying my ice cream craving and I had two pieces before I was too full of lunch and ice cream cake to eat anymore.

After that, it was time for presents. Mostly, Jess and I both got clothes, gift certificates, and stuff like that. Clarice got us both some really pretty keychains, a snowflake for me and a rabbit for Jess, teasing at the make of her car without coming out and saying it. Jess wasn’t enough of a car person to get the reference though, so she remained oblivious.

Mom and Pandora teamed up for our gifts, getting us both a pair of skis and related equipment and promising a family bonding ski trip for the whole family at the club. They didn’t say where but said the trip would be during Spring Break, which was when they announced that their wedding would be taking place. That little announcement was met with cheers and a few calls of “It’s about time!” from the others who lived above the club. Apparently, the club would be closed for the whole week so we could all enjoy the trip and the wedding ceremony together.

Despite our background story, neither Jess nor I had ever actually gone skiing before and I found myself looking forward to the trip. Not only would I get to have fun in the snow and enjoy spending time in my primary element, but I would get to spend some quality time with our family too. Rose was even invited along too, if her aunt and uncle allowed it, so we could both have some romantic time with our girlfriends during the trip too.

Selina got both me and my sister a pair of silver lockets, they had photos inside of the two of us with Selena and Mom. I thought it was sweet. Mom and Aunt Merry had helped her to get them while we were in school this week, but Selina had come up with the idea and chose the lockets herself.

The other truly sappy gifts came from our girlfriends. Rose got my sister another charm bracelet that she could wear on the wrist opposite the one she had gotten from Dad and wore whenever she could. The only charms on it were a black bunny and a white bunny with a heart-shaped charm between them.

Melody got me a ring, like an actual promise ring. It looked like white gold and had an ice blue, heart-shaped aquamarine inset and some tiny diamonds surrounding it. That immediately got some people, namely that snarky and sassy Kitsune, Krysti, asking if we needed to start planning another wedding soon. That, of course, had both me and Melody blushing fiercely.

Melody mumbled, “There’s no rush,” barely loud enough to hear before swallowing hard, her hands trembling slightly as she took the ring from the box and held it out to me. “It’s just…I love you and I want to spend my life with you, Crystal. We don’t need to make things official any time soon, but whenever you want to… if you want to… I’ll be ready.”

I practically smothered her in a passionate kiss and needed to catch my breath before replying, “I… we can take our time, but… yes. I love you too, and someday I’d like to make that official.” My hand was trembling as much as hers as I held it out so she could slip the ring on me.

“Awww…. That’s so sweet. My baby… is growing up so fast,” Mom said between sniffles as the others present let out an exaggerated “Awww.”

Jess and I opened one another’s gifts last. Jess got me some sparkly snowflake-shaped hairclips and a hairband with fluffy white rabbit ears on it as a joke. “If you wear those, nobody would be able to tell us apart,” she said with a giggle as I stared at them.

I tried not to laugh and to keep a straight face, but I couldn’t keep it up, letting out a giggle of my own as I retorted, “Oh sure, Sis, it’s the perfect disguise. Now open yours.”

I had gotten my sister a leather jacket to match mine, going so far as to have Braedan at Cloud Nine adjust it to exactly the same dimensions and style. When she opened it and ran her hands over the leather I taunted, “If you wear that, nobody will be able to tell us apart, if you can manage to get the ears right.”

“Okay, presents are done! Now, who wants a pole dance lesson?!” Anita cheerfully offered.

The clothes stayed on, but Anita was as good as her word and soon gave a pole dancing lesson to any of our friends who were interested in having a bit of fun with it and getting some exercise. Surprisingly, that was everyone but Melody and Selina. My daughter looked interested, but she felt that Sorcha might feel left out of things and so busied herself playing with the little Selkie, which I found so sweet of her. Melody watched but didn’t have any interest in learning to do it herself.

Jess and Rose even gave it a shot and Rose picked it up surprisingly quickly. Alison and Nikki had the most trouble, and Anita and her sisters hovered, ready to catch the two when that became obvious. Alison’s goat-like legs just didn’t mesh well with the activity and Nikki wasn’t used to using her legs for much other than walking or occasionally running since she was far more comfortable in the water and having a tail and fins rather than legs and feet.

Eventually, the party ended around four o’clock and our friends headed home. Some, like Bella and Nova, hadn’t finished their weekend homework yet and Clarice had promised to be back at her parents’ café in time to help as a waitress for the dinner rush. So, we all ended up saying our goodbyes and promising to see each other tomorrow.

After the party was over and the cleanup was done, it was time for dinner and our big family shared another meal together as we talked about Mom and Pandora’s upcoming wedding. I was feeling a lot better than earlier, but I still found my thoughts sometimes drifting toward Delilah and what I could do to her to get even for trying to humiliate me today. Fortunately, another distraction was readily available after we finished our evening meal.

That was when the Dicken sisters took me for more practice with my stage routines and pole dancing. I wasn’t the only one getting training either. Aunt Merry and Annika took Melody, Jess, Carmen, and even Lou to the training room so my girlfriend could get more hand-to-hand combat training to help with her new job as a bouncer. My sister was going to be given another self-defense and hand-to-hand combat lesson, and Annika and Aunt Merry thought it would be a good idea for Carmen and Lou to start learning as well.

Anita, Adora, and Stella worked me mercilessly until eight o’clock when I wanted to spend some time with Selina before getting her settled in for bed. When I got upstairs to do that, I found my sister, Carmen, and Lou all flopped on the couch looking exhausted. “Rough session?” I asked as I found a seat on the couch between Melody and Selina and put my arms around my girlfriend and daughter.

“It wasn’t so bad,” Melody said as she leaned in to kiss me.

“Not everyone has your demonic strength and stamina, Mel,” my sister protested.

“Yeah, my arms and legs feel like Jell-O,” Lou agreed.

“Mine too,” Carmen contributed, though she quickly added, “Merriwynd and Annika do have a point though, especially where me and Jessica are concerned. I only have healing and purification magic, and Jess only has shapeshifting. If Snatchers come after us, or we get in some other trouble, we need a way to defend ourselves. I mean, I have Blaze, but he can’t even manifest a physical form yet, and using a Salamander should probably be a last resort.”

“That’s true. I mean, what are you going to do in that case, Lou? Wolfing out would probably be a very bad idea in public,” I pointed out.

Lou sighed but nodded after a moment. “Ugh, yeah, I know. You’re right, but did they really have to train us so hard?”

“Annika and Aunt Merry aren’t exactly the type to coddle us, especially when this is to keep us safe,” Jess told him. “I’ve been doing this since before Christmas and they’ve never once gone easy on me. I guess it’s their way of showing they care.”

We hung out for another half hour or so before it was time to get Selina ready for bed. We talked quietly about how we could defend ourselves and, by extension, ways that I could deal with Delilah. Her dad had basically given me the okay to get back at her for anything she did to me, though I didn’t want to do anything that crossed a line. Almost being charged and arrested once was enough for me. Still, I would not let her verbal barbs or harassment go unanswered and I also wanted to get her back for today somehow. Seeing things blow up in her face had been nice, but that didn’t eliminate her intentions, or the debt owed.

The next morning, I was able to drive the Charger to school again and when we arrived, I found Clarice, Trixie, Nova, and Nikki all leaning against Clarice’s twenty-year-old, red Ford Mustang with expressions of pure delight on their faces. It was a nice car that used to be her father’s until he bought something new, and last year he gave it to Clarice after she got her driver’s license. It barely ran when he gave it to her, but she had put a lot of work into it over the past year to get it roadworthy again. That car was her baby and the big reason she was working on a project car for my sister instead of herself.

After I parked the Charger beside Clarice’s Mustang, we all climbed out and Melody was the first to ask our group of friends, “Okay, what gives? Why are you all looking so happy and smug?”

Her question was answered with a question as Nikki beamed at us and pointed at the car parked directly across from Clarice’s. The blindingly blue vehicle in question was a complete and utter eyesore, easily one of the ugliest cars that I had ever seen up close.~ Do any of you know what that is? ~

I knew very well what it was, but I quickly suggested a few other things she might be referring to. “A very expensive paperweight? An investment in misery? A neon sign for the worst kind of attention? Something I would never be caught dead driving? The ugliest mom mobile I’ve ever seen?”

“Yes!” Nova agreed gleefully,” To all those things! But it is also Delilah’s new ride! She got to the parking lot just before us and we saw her get out of it. She was wearing a hoodie and trying to hide her face though.”

For several seconds I found myself just staring at their smiling faces before looking back at the car in question. Then I burst out laughing, so hard that I was bent over, and it brought tears to my eyes. I was laughing so hard that I could barely get the words out as I sputtered. “That’s… awesome!”

I barely heard Carmen ask in utter confusion. “Wait, so you’re all happy that Delilah is getting a new car after what she’s done to Crystal? I mean, yeah, it’s ugly, but it’s still a set of wheels.”

“You poor girl. You have so much to learn about cars, but we’ll teach you,” Clarice tutted teasingly. Then, since I was still laughing my ass off, she explained. “That’s a Nissan Cube, it’s easily among the ugliest cars ever made. They were discontinued here in North America in 2014 due to poor sales, so it’s probably a decade old, or close to it. It’s bright blue too so like Crystal said, it’s going to get her the worst kind of attention for someone of her status and ego, the humiliating kind. Delilah’s Daddy must be pissed at her to make her drive something like that. It’s like he purposely picked the ugliest vehicle on the lot.”

“Uh-huh, and you just knew all that stuff about it off-hand?” Jess asked in a disbelieving tone.

“Well… we may have checked Wikipedia on my phone for the exact details, but I did know what it was and that it was discontinued,” Clarice admitted with a shrug.

“Just look at that thing though,” Trixie added with a grin, “driving that around where people can see her is gonna be social suicide for her. Or maybe not, we all know that the girls at school only follow her because she’s filthy, stinkin’ rich. Still, I give it a week before she torches this one, on purpose this time.”

It wasn’t long after that when Alison showed up with Rose and Bella and parked on the other side of Clarice’s car. She drove a green 1996 Ford Taurus that she kept in good repair even though it was almost 25 years old. It was her first car, and she got it at a steal because of the age and the condition it was in when she got it, but she was absolutely in love with the Jeep Cherokee she had picked out for her project and would probably be selling the Taurus once the jeep was running.

I was still occasionally looking at the Cube and giggling when Alison and company climbed out of her car. If Delilah thought I was going to try to do anything to this vehicle, she was bound to be disappointed. Once the new arrivals were informed of just who that eyesore belonged to (and they stopped laughing), we all agreed to not touch Delilah’s new vehicle. We all wanted to see her driving that thing at least until she graduated at the end of the year.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t sit around laughing at Delilah’s rightful misfortune all day since we had to get to class. So, we all headed into the school before the warning bell could ring and made our way to our first classes of the day. For me, that was Drama, a class that I was happy to share with my sister and our girlfriends, with no Delilah in sight.

The four of us even got to group together for team skits today. I was pretty sure that I was the worst actress of the four of us though. I could put on the bimbo act if I had to, but that was more by allowing myself to get distracted by my urges rather than fighting them, and by carefully considering how I replied to things. Overall, it felt awkward pretending to be someone else though, and if I was going to be getting on a stage, I had other ways to entertain people, ways that I was good at, at least according to the Dicken sisters.

I guess I wasn’t terrible, or at least the teacher didn’t think I was. She said that I lacked passion and enthusiasm for acting though, which was fair since I only took this class to hang out with Jess and Melody at first, even if some of the stuff we were learning was interesting and useful for my future career. Jess and Rose thought I was good at facial expressions and tone of voice, but actually getting into a character or connecting with them mentally and emotionally just wasn’t something that I could do as easily as the rest of them.

Jess and Rose both had actual acting experience in television and movies. Sure, they may have been in bunny form during those roles and didn’t have any lines, but they could connect with their characters and make them convincing. They had also been around human actors and actresses enough during that time to pick up a lot of things that go beyond what we were learning in class.

Even Melody already had some sort of practical acting experience. She had played the role of a ruthless killer and bounty hunter for years, pretending to be tough as nails well enough that she had convinced actual killers, bounty hunters, and Demons that it was true. Sure, she had killed some people, but only people who really deserved it, and had put on a convincing enough act to work with the PDA occasionally to make innocent people disappear so they could start over somewhere safe with a new identity.

That whole act when we first met had been pretty damn convincing after all. The people who had witnessed Seth’s ‘death’ certainly thought it was real. If it hadn’t been for those Kadduran who were watching our apartment having heat vision, we probably would have gotten away with the whole thing.

I was a lot more enthusiastic about my next class as Bella and I escorted Carmen to Auto Shop. This was something that I was passionate about, and soon I would be able to start taking apart the engine in my Supra. Thankfully, we had a hoist available, and I was hoping to take the engine out using that with some help from Mrs. Svenson. After that, I was hoping to get it taken apart and to clean and examine all the parts over the next few weeks in class, so I could figure out what needed replacing.

After that, I would mostly have to have a good look at the undercarriage and everything else under the hood, order or find any other parts needed, and then I could get to work in earnest. I had brought all the replacement parts that I knew, or suspected, I needed and had bought from the shop and the wrecking yard, so at least I had plenty to work with until I knew the state of the engine and drivetrain in more detail. Hopefully, the mods, replacement grille, and bumper panel that I had ordered from Auto-Worx Parts ‘n Mods would arrive later this week, but I could at least replace the broken headlight.

I figured I would replace that headlight during the next work class if I had time after pulling out the engine and getting it to my workstation to take apart. I had quite a bit of work to do to get the Supra ready to drive, but I was looking forward to it. It was as we were walking to class, and I was planning out my work in my head, Bella asked Carmen, “Are you looking forward to your first Auto Shop class, or nervous?”

“Honestly, a bit of both,” Carmen admitted. She certainly sounded nervous.

“Aww, don’t be nervous, Mrs. Svenson is awesome, one of the nicest teachers at this school and she knows her stuff too. You won’t have to just jump right into working on engines and stuff either. Now that the first week is over and we’ve all got our projects to work on, she said we will be alternating learning classes with workshop classes. Today will be a regular class, just in the shop instead of a classroom,” the redheaded Metal Mage assured her.

“Nova is new to working with cars too,” I added as I put an arm around Carmen in a shoulder hug. “Since the rest of us have experience and know our way around under the hood, on the workshop days, Mrs. Svenson will probably be working with the two of you a lot; showing you where stuff is, explaining how it all works, and watching over you both while you work on your projects unless one of us needs help with something big, like getting that engine out of my Supra. That’s not a one-girl job.”

A grinning Bella quickly offered, “Ooh! I can totally help with that, Crystal! I’m getting pretty good at controlling and moving metal with my magic; it helped a bunch when I was stripping vehicles for parts in the wrecking year on Saturday. Metal Mage for the win!”

“Sweet! Thanks, Bella, that would be awesome,” I agreed with a grin right back at her. Then I turned my attention back to Carmen. “So, like Bella said, today will just be book learning; diagrams, a lot of theory on how things work, and that kind of stuff. As for the workshop stuff, Mrs. Svenson will be there if you need help and tomorrow you can just work on replacing the hood and the front panels and stuff instead of jumping right into engines and stuff. You already know how to remove them after Saturday, and the rest is essentially the opposite.”

“And if you need any help, you can ask Mrs. Svenson, or any of us if she’s busy helping someone else,” Bella quickly added. “I know working on cars can be a bit intimidating at first, but I guarantee that by the end of the semester, you’ll have a working vehicle and at least most of the knowledge you need to keep it in good working order. This is my second year taking this class, so I’m pretty confident that you’ll get the hang of things.”

“Your second year? Did you fail or…” Carmen asked but she seemed uncertain how to finish that question.

“Nah,” the redhead replied, waving off the aborted question. “Most of us try to take it whenever it’s offered, we have a free elective, and we can fit it into our schedule, so we can increase our knowledge and get more practical experience working on vehicles. Each of us having our own projects to work on is new this year though, because Alex was willing to sponsor us. Usually, it’s just one big class project that gets auctioned off to pay for some sort of class activity or trip at the end of the year. I’m really excited to get to work on a car for myself this year.”

By this time, we had arrived at the auto shop, and we all got settled on the stools by our workstations for a lecture and some reading from our textbooks. While it wasn’t as fun as working on our vehicles, Mrs. Svenson had a way of making even the dry textbook knowledge interesting and fun. Carmen spent the whole lecture part of the class, hurriedly jotting down notes of anything that sounded even remotely important.

We did end the reading portion early so we could all show Carmen where the various tools and other necessities were kept. Mrs. Svenson also explained what some of them were for and how to use them, when necessary, since Carmen was new to everything mechanics-related. We even had a couple of minutes to check on our project cars. Carmen’s Kia Optima SX Turbo was delivered by Alex sometime yesterday, along with all the larger parts that people had scavenged for their projects. It was too bad that we didn’t have time for more than a peek because everyone was excited to get started, and nobody wanted to wait for tomorrow.

With Auto Shop finished for the day, it was now time for Home Economics, so I met up with my sister at our lockers and then we headed to class together. We were trying our hands at baking cakes today and Jess and I opted for chocolate with chocolate icing. Because chocolate is, of course, the best flavor.

I didn’t mess with the batter that Delilah and Mallory were working on today, mostly because I wanted to wait until Delilah wasn’t expecting that before trying it again. Besides, their cake pans, spoons, and measuring cups were all extremely cold to the touch for some reason. I wonder how that could have happened. Mallory tried to warm them up at one point, after some furious hissing from Delilah, but after Delilah almost burned herself on a mixing bowl, they decided to wait for things to return to a normal temperature on their own. They were still waiting for their cakes to come out of the oven when the rest of us left for lunch.

Delilah had been downright abusive to Mallory during class, hissing quietly at her apparently former best friend so the teacher wouldn’t hear, but I could see from the look on her face that poor Mallory was upset. I resolved to try not to put Mallory in the middle of our little feud and maybe see if I could talk to her later. The poor girl looked completely miserable working with and being bullied by Delilah.

Me and my friends were all eating our lunch peacefully and minding our own business when Delilah stormed over to our table looking furious. I half expected Mallory to be with her, but their interactions while working together during Home Ec. were not pretty. I felt kind of bad for the Efreeti since it looked like Delilah blamed her for what happened to her old car as much as she did me, instead of taking responsibility for her actions.

Delilah’s glare was focused on me as she practically snarled, “You were messing with my shit during class again, you fucking bitch!”

I calmly raised an eyebrow as I looked up at her from my meal. That had been a statement, not a question, so I wasn’t required to answer or be truthful about it. Instead, I cooly asked, “Do you have proof of this? Are you sure you’re not just a terrible cook? I think we both already know by now what happens when you try to accuse someone without evidence.”

“I know it was you, you little slut,” she hissed.

“If you’re looking for a confession, maybe try a church,” I suggested with a smile. “You won’t be getting one here.” Then I focused my mind on Melody and our connection through the Salamander network. ~ Honey, could you maybe check the bathrooms and stuff for Mallory? Delilah was being a mega bitch to her during our last class and she looked pretty upset. You’re the only one here that I figure would be safe on your own if Delilah or her other friends get any ideas. ~

~ Sure thing, Babe. Probably best I go anyway if she’s upset since I’m fireproof and have Fire magic, ~ she agreed immediately before excusing herself to go to the ladies’ room. That earned her some looks from everyone else at the table, but Delilah ignored her, her sights still set on me.

“Bitch,” she hissed again. “I’ll get you for what you did to my car, and for humiliating me like you did yesterday.”

Seriously?! Was she honestly that self-absorbed and deluded that she was believing her own lies, or was this just something to save face in public? Maybe it was both? For a moment I was too angry to respond, and Alison beat me to it. “Yes, because how dare she humiliate you by turning around your plan to humiliate her and get her arrested at her home, on her birthday,” the blonde Glaistig snarked as she rolled her eyes. We both knew yesterday was only the party and not my actual birthday, but Delilah didn’t need to know that.

Jess was just as pissed as I was though, and her tone was filled with cold fury as she stood up and glared at the Fire Mage. “Did you seriously just threaten my sister?”

“What are you going to do if I did, bunny?” she retorted, glaring right back at Jess. She was so fucking brave with the twin who didn’t have magic to defend herself. Uh oh. Nobody is allowed to call Jess ‘bunny’ but me, Mom, and maybe her girlfriend. And Rose was looking like she wanted to start throwing her weight into this fight too.

“Not me,” my sister replied, with a cold smile. “You have no idea how many powerful Paranormals you pissed off with your stunt yesterday, do you? If I were you, I’d hope it’s our Aunt Merry that gets to you first, she might let you live… for a very long time and in such exquisite agony. Carmilla has already made it clear to the PDA that she wants to handle this, and you do not want the Night Princess coming after you.”

Delilah paled at the mention of Carmilla’s more well-known moniker, but she quickly shook it off and sneered. “If you really knew her, I’d probably already be dead. You’ll need to come up with something better than that, puck.”

My sister and Rose both stiffened at the p-slur for Púca. Since I had managed to calm myself down, I needed to do something about this before this escalated further and that bitch had two very angry shapeshifters beating the living hell out of her. I wouldn’t have minded if she got beat up, but I didn’t want Jess and Rose to get suspended and Delilah wanted someone here to make a move and get punished for something she could prove.

The air of confrontation hovering around us was making me uncomfortable, I needed to get Delilah’s attention back on me and give those two a chance to cool off before they did something they would regret. So, I taunted her. “I didn’t touch your car, Delilah, the one who destroyed your car was you, not me and not Mallory. Why are you complaining anyway? Daddy already bought you something to replace it, didn’t he? I’ve seen it, it’s very… attention-grabbing, and different than your last car. You’re so brave driving something like that in public.”

Her attention was back on me now, and she was fucking furious. If she had any fire available right then, I was sure that I would have been testing just how fireproof Cinder made me. Apparently, she was too angry to even form coherent sentences and, after a bit of word salad that included some choice slurs and possibly some vague threats, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the cafeteria.

We had all managed to calm down a bit by the time my girlfriend returned to the table with Mallory in tow. The Efreeti looked miserable, and her eyes were red and blotchy from crying. “Thanks for finding her, Honey, I needed to deal with the Delilah situation,” I told Melody. Too bad the cafeteria was full, or I would have pulled her in for a nice steamy kiss as well. “How are you doing, Mallory? I’m sorry if you’ve been caught in the middle of Delilah’s beef with me.”

“It’s… not your… fault,” she replied between sniffles. “Delilah is a bitch and I… kinda ignored that since she was never a bitch to me until now. I guess… I was useful. She just hates you ‘cause you’re prettier than her.”

“Why the fuck do you hang out with her then?” Bella asked. “Everyone in school knows that she was just using you because you’re an Efreeti.”

The Efreeti wiped away her tears and shrugged. “Nobody else wanted to get close to me, I didn’t have very good control over my flames when I first started here, and still don’t, it’s why I have to stay in a human form. So, I guess the other girls were afraid of me. Delilah wasn’t and she treated me nice... well, nicer than she treats other people… at first. She would take me shopping and buy me nice clothes, and we’d go to spas and stuff. I guess she thought if she was going to keep me around, she didn’t want me ruining her image by being… not as well off.”

For the rest of the lunch period, we tried to shake off our communal anger at Delilah and to cheer Mallory up as we tried to get to know one another better. It was honestly no surprise that Mallory had clung so tightly to the attention she was getting from Delilah. She came from a single-parent family and her mother was working two jobs just to pay the bills. She didn’t want to be a burden, so when the obscenely rich girl started taking an interest in her, money talked.

The only reason that she can manage the tuition for the school is because she has a PDA scholarship to attend. The people who registered her at the PDA felt that without proper training for her abilities, she would be a danger to the public and the Paranormal secret. She didn’t have a car either, so she needed to take public transit every day and the nearest stop to the school was a ten-minute walk away. Delilah had sometimes given her a ride to school or back home, saving her bus fare.

At one point, Clarice asked Mallory, “How are you in the kitchen? If you’re looking to make some extra money and don’t mind working after school and maybe on Saturdays, my dad is looking for someone to help him in the kitchen at the café. It would mostly be prep work, but he’d probably train you as a cook as well if you’re up for that. The pay isn’t fantastic, but it’s not horrible either and your meals and drinks on shift would be covered.”

Mallory’s eyes widened at the kindhearted offer. For a moment it looked like she was going to ask why before she actually considered the question. “I usually have to make my own meals at home so I’m pretty good, at least I think I am. When someone isn’t freezing things that they shouldn’t be.” The last was said with a glance in my direction, but there didn’t seem to be any malice in it, and she tried to smile to take the sting out of the words.

I smiled back. She seemed okay when she wasn’t trying to impress Delilah, and I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be a problem anymore after how she treated her today. The poor girl needed real friends though, and maybe a helping hand, so I was glad that Clarice had taken the initiative on that. The young Deer Woman in question nodded and smiled as well as she offered. “Cool, we can go talk to my parents about it after school, I can give you a ride, but my car can only seat four. Alison, would you mind giving Nova a lift home with Rose and Bella?”

“Sure, I don’t mind, she doesn’t live too far out of my way,” the Glaistig replied without a second thought. With the post-school ride situation figured out, it was time for us to get back to classes. Mallory had Gym next with Clarice, Melody, Rose, Jessica, and me, so after we all grabbed our stuff from our lockers, we headed there together.

When our group entered the changing room, Delilah was talking in hushed tones with the other girls. My ears caught the sound of her voice saying, “… those filthy car freaks…” but she shut her trap as soon as Melody opened the door. The moment that we passed the threshold and entered the room, over a dozen glares fell upon us. I don’t know for sure what she was telling them, but I had a pretty good idea that it wasn’t good.

Maybe she was telling them that we were responsible for her car being torched, or maybe she was planning something nasty against us. Neither would be a first, so I tried to put her nastiness out of my mind as the others and I hurried inside to get changed for gym. It took a moment for Delilah to notice Mallory though, since she had come in last and was half hiding behind Rose and Jess.

When she did see the Efreeti come in with us, Delilah looked ready to blow her top and practically snarled, “What are you doing with them, Mal? Get over here.”

For a moment, I was worried that Mallory might comply, she certainly looked terrified enough. The poor girl looked like she wanted to run out of the room. She looked from me and Melody, to Delilah, and then to Clarice before taking a deep breath, standing up straight, and carefully replying, “I don’t know, Delilah. Maybe it has something to do with when you told me we were through and that you never wanted to talk to me again. It could have been all the insults and names you called me in that rant too.”

Delilah’s eyes widened in shock as Mallory talked back. “You can’t… I was angry, Mal. You know how I get when I’m angry, I can be a bit of a bitch.”

“No. You’re a total bitch,” Mallory corrected, her confidence seeming to grow with every word. “Not just when you’re angry either, but all the time. I put up with it because it was always to other people, and maybe because I hoped that you actually viewed me as a friend, but today you showed me that I’m just like everyone else to you, disposable, and only worth keeping around as long as I’m useful to you. Well, fuck you, I’m done with your bullshit.”

The poor little rich girl just stood there for a moment with a stunned expression on her face. She looked like someone had just slapped her as she tried to process what the Efreeti just said to her. Then, once it seemed that the message actually sunk in, her expression turned to one of fury.

“Fine, it’s your loss, trailer trash,” Delilah snapped. “We’re done. Don’t come crawling back to me when those new girls stab you in the back.” She just had to try to get the last word in and make it seem like she was dropping Mallory instead of the other way around as she turned in a huff and headed toward the gym with the other girls.

My sister wasn’t about to let that go though. Jess called after her retreating back, “I think you proved to her who the backstabber is just fine already, Delilah.”

I could see the Fire Mage’s back stiffen as she led the other girls through the doors into the gym and once they had all left the changing room, Mallory practically collapsed onto one of the changing benches and let out a long, slow breath. “I… I can’t believe I said all that… I stood up to her.”

“Yep, and you did a great job of it too,” Clarice commented with a grin. “So, how did it feel?”

“Umm… scary? And kinda nice too, I guess,” she replied as we all started to get our gym clothes from our bags to change. It was strange hearing a girl who could probably roast most people alive scared of anything, but I think that was part of it. She was scared of losing control and hurting someone, and Delilah would have been relatively safe since her magic let her control fire and heat.

“Well, we’re proud of you for standing up for yourself,” Melody told her as she stripped off her clothes.

“Thanks, Melody. For that, and for coming to find me when I was upset. It’s weird, but kinda nice having people around me who aren’t just using me for my powers,” Mallory admitted with a faint blush. “I kept my real feelings about the way she treated people quiet for way too long. I was too scared of losing the only friend I had. I guess I was ignoring how bad she was because she wasn’t that way with me. It’s a relief to finally get some of that off my chest, and I guess she wasn’t really a friend.”

“Not a good one, at least,” Rose muttered behind me.

“No, I don’t think we were really ‘friends’ at all,” the Efreeti clarified with a sad shake of her head. “It was a transaction… for both of us. We were both getting something out of it, and I guess that made it worth it. After she used my flames to torch her car on Friday, she got pissed with me, like it was my fault, and wouldn’t answer my calls all weekend. Then she was such a bitch to me in Home Ec. that I was sobbing in the bathroom when Melody found me. I guess I realized then how bad she really was, and that the benefits of her friendship weren’t worth being treated that way.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for my part in how she treated you. I probably made things worse with my antics in Home Ec.” I told her apologetically as I took off my bra and reveled in being completely naked for a moment before reaching for the clothes in my gym bag.

“At least you feel bad about it, Crystal, and I appreciate that. Delilah probably only feels bad that she won’t be able to use the threat of my fire to bully people anymore. Honestly, this is all on Delilah, she’s responsible for her own actions, and I’m kinda grateful that this happened now. Otherwise, I might have never admitted to myself how toxic our relationship was, Melody wouldn’t have come to find me, and I wouldn’t have had a chance at making some real friends.”

We all continued to change clothes in comfortable silence and soon we were out in the gym with the rest of our classmates who, from the looks they were giving us, were wrapped around Delilah’s little finger. I couldn’t be sure how many actually believed whatever stories she fed them, but even if they didn’t, it didn’t matter much. Her money, looks, and influence made her the queen of the school long before I showed up and, with Mallory’s coveted position as Delilah’s BFF now publicly rescinded, other girls were going to be competing in the suck-up Olympics to take her place.

Once we were all present, our gym teacher, Mrs. Shaw, gathered us all together. “We’re playing volleyball again today, girls,” she announced. “Let’s have Crystal and Delilah as the team captains again. We’ll do best out of three, and to make things more interesting, the winning team gets to hit the showers early while the losers have to stay and help put the net and equipment away.”

While the competition was a bit of a surprise, the rest made sense to me. The teachers were still trying to keep me and Delilah as far away from each other as possible due to our feud, so having us on separate teams and hitting the showers at different times made sense. She had made us team captains to ensure that during our last gym class as well.

Picking my team was easy enough since Delilah didn’t want anyone close to me on her team, while I did. The problem was that her supporters currently outnumbered mine by a lot, so I again had to choose four girls who I didn’t know very well and who seemed actively hostile toward me for Delilah’s sake. Shawna, Zoey, Sasha, and Heather started to become a problem when I noticed that any time the ball came their way, they would miss or screw up somehow. Even when the ball didn’t come their way, they would get in my friends’ way whenever they were on the court. They were trying to throw the game so Delilah’s team would win.

The first game was close thanks to my sister and Rose being awesome at the net, but we still lost due to sabotage, and I was starting to get pissed off. I hadn’t been the only one to notice their efforts to lose though, it was fairly obvious to everyone, especially Mrs. Shaw. While the gym teacher was reading the four girls the Riot Act between games, I had a little talk with the rest of my team.

This was a matter of pride now and I knew that even if the teacher gave them shit, I still couldn’t count on any of those girls to not try to lose us the second game as well, or the third if it should come to that. We would need to aggressively counter their efforts and, between the six of us, take every play that we could ourselves. It wasn’t fair, but it was what it was.

At least, that was the plan until Mrs. Shaw began a very heated conversation with the four girls and then ordered them to run laps around the gym. She approached us with a deep frown on her face and said, “I apologize, girls. I should have realized that making things more competitive would only cause issues when Delilah suggested it. I’ve talked with Heather, Sasha, Zoey, and Shawna, and they will be running laps for the rest of the period. Would you like to continue with just the six of you, or draft a couple of players from Delilah’s team?”

“Like this won’t just happen again if we do that,” I said bitterly about the second option. “We’re better off with just six of us, at least we can trust one another.”

“Very well then,” she said with a nod before leaning in conspiratorially. “I can’t take sides in whatever feud you and Delilah have going on, Crystal, but I can’t abide cheaters either. Give ‘em hell, girls.”

We were all pissed off and driven after that, so much so that the next two games were both routs in our favor. Mallory and Clarice were both actually really good at the game, Melody had a mean serve, and Rose and Jess completely dominated the net with nobody getting in their way all the time. When the games were done, we cheerfully bid Delilah and the other girls farewell and good luck with the cleanup, and then we headed to the changing room for our showers.

Donning shower caps to keep our hair dry, we all hurried through our showers so we could be done before the other girls showed up to take theirs. We were all changing back into our school uniforms when a very unhappy Deliliah led the other girls into the changing room. She gave us all a withering glare before grabbing her body wash and stuff from her gym locker and hurrying into the showers with the other girls hot on her heels. They didn’t have much time before the bell would announce the end of class, and only five minutes after that to get to their next one.

I took my time getting dressed, earning suspicious looks from everyone but my sister and Melody. They both knew all too well how annoying it was for me to get dressed after being naked for a bit. This time there was also a purpose to my slowness though. Once I was sure that Delilah and her sycophants were all in the shower, I headed to the locker where I saw Delilah getting her shower stuff with my water bottle in hand.

None of the gym lockers had actual locks on them, so I just needed to open it up, give my bottle a very liberal squirt, and then work a little bit of that ole Ice magic after making sure nobody was watching besides my friends. I not only froze her school uniform and underwear but dropped the temperature inside the locker enough that they should stay that way until Delilah was ready to get dressed. I really hoped that she would use fire to try to dry them.

I would have to thank Ms. Norstrom later. We hadn’t had many magic lessons yet, but my control over both my elements was already starting to see marked improvements thanks to the focusing exercises she had been teaching me and Carmen. Speaking of which, I had to go meet Carmen when she got out of her class so we could get to magic class. With a grin at my friends, who were all trying to hide their smiles from my cool little bit of mischief, we left the changing room with about five minutes to kill before our last classes of the day.

For some reason, I got summoned to the Headmistress’s office not long after sitting down with Carmen for another magic lesson from Ms. Norstrom. The moment that I waltzed inside, Mrs. Collins gave me a tired and somewhat exasperated look. “Why, Crystal?”

Wow, that question was, like, super vague. It was like she wasn’t even trying this time. So many ways that I could answer that question. “Because my mom and dad loved each other very much,” I answered cheekily after a moment.

She sighed and rubbed at her temples; it looked like she had a headache. Well, talking to Delilah, which I was sure had led to my summons, would give anyone a headache. “You know what I’m talking about, Crystal. Don’t try denying it, Sasha says she saw you freeze Deliliah’s clothes.”

Bullshit. I made doubly sure that nobody but my friends saw me doing it. “Do you mean the same Sasha who had to run laps for most of gym class because she tried to sabotage my team so Delilah’s team would win? Yes, there’s an unbiased and reliable witness,” I snarked.

“Still, she has a witness, and you were the only Ice magic user in that class, Crystal,” the headmistress insisted. “Why did you freeze Delilah’s clothes?”

“You want I should make a list? I hope you have some coffee, and you might want to let Ms. Norstrom know I won’t be coming back to class because this could take a while,” I told her as I made a show of getting comfortable in the chair across from her. I wasn’t even going to try denying it this time. There was no point in it with a fake witness.

“If this is about what happened to your car…”

“That matter has been dealt with, and her father has paid me for the trouble it caused,” I said, cutting her off. “This is about her harassment and bullying since I started school here last week; the racist slurs, the insults, the petty little things she’s constantly pulling to try to humiliate me and make me and my friends miserable here. This is about her thinking that she’s better than everyone. This is about how she showed up, at my home, during my and Jess’s birthday party, to try and have me interrogated and arrested by a corrupt PDA official, and a thankfully honorable telepath, without any evidence.”

Her eyes went wide as I said the last. “She did what?”

“Oh, didn’t she tell you about how she conned her Daddy and a bribed official into paying me a visit to get me charged for the destruction of her car?” I taunted. “If the telepath was as dirty as the official who roped him into the task, and I hadn’t had video evidence to prove my innocence, we likely wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. Her dad is really mad at her now, has personally guaranteed the safety of my car here at the school, and encouraged me to not let her get away with her bullshit. If you don’t believe me, give him a call. If she can’t take a harmless prank or two for everything she’s done, then maybe she should learn to stop poking the Fey.”

The headmistress let out a long sigh as she rubbed her temples again. “Please go wait outside for a moment, Crystal.”

I did as she asked and after five minutes or so, I was called back inside after she asked her receptionist to call Delilah next. “Crystal, I will be having a serious talk with Delilah about her behavior toward you and others. Her father has confirmed what you just told me and asked that you not be punished for this incident. I recommend that you report further troubles with Delilah to me or your teachers rather than taking matters into your own hands though. If you get caught damaging another student’s property again, it could mean disciplinary action.”

I had a strong feeling that she was just covering her ass there, and she seemed a little stunned in general by whatever conversation she just had with Mr. Devereaux. I also had a feeling that Delilah had gotten away with a lot because her father was a major contributor to the school, but he wouldn’t be protecting her anymore. The fact that he was protecting me in this case instead was a very pleasant surprise and said a lot about how pissed off he was at his daughter.

It was a warning basically, but the wording was interesting. She recommended it and specifically mentioned that ‘damaging property’ could get me disciplined. I could read between the lines loud and clear. These were the ground rules that she and Delilah’s father were setting should Delilah not learn her lesson. Meaning that anything other than that, and presumably damaging Delilah herself, was still fair game as long as I wasn’t caught doing anything that was explicitly against school rules.

“Yes, Ma’am,” I replied after a moment of considering the situation and my warning. “I will point out though that her clothes were not damaged, just very cold.”

“Regardless, see that it doesn’t happen again, Crystal. Going against the dress code, or causing another student to do so through malicious action, is strictly against school rules,” she pointed out. I was going to have to take another look at the school rules to see what I could get away with, thanks for the warning. I didn’t say that though as she added, “You may return to class now.”

I left the office to see Delilah, still in her gym clothes and glaring daggers at me. I smiled at her and asked sweetly, “Still in your gym clothes, Delilah? That’s against school rules, isn’t it? I should get back to class. Have an ice day.”

I was grinning from ear to ear as I left the office and a fuming Delilah behind and heard the receptionist say, “You may go in now, Delilah.”

After classes ended for the day, we met up with all our friends at the school entrance to walk together to our vehicles in the parking lot. Most of the conversation revolved around my summons to the office, quickly followed by Delilah getting summoned as well. I explained to everyone what happened, the false witness, and my insights on the matter, and after some laughing, the others were trying to see if they could get Mallory to see about getting transferred into Auto Shop class like Carmen did. Unfortunately, Mallory had English that period, a class she and Rose shared, and since it wasn’t an elective, she couldn’t get out of it.

“That’s a shame,” Trixie said sympathetically as we approached our vehicles. “We’re all restoring cars that will be ours to keep, and it would have been nice for you to have a car when you graduate at the end of the year.”

The Charger hadn’t been defaced or damaged, causing me to breathe a sigh of relief as Alison glanced pensively at her own vehicle and said, “I love the Jeep Cherokee I picked out and can’t wait to drive it. I’ve kept my Taurus in pretty good shape though, so maybe we can arrange something once I get the jeep running, if you want a car by then, Mallory.”

Just like with Clarice’s earlier offer of a possible job, Mallory stared at Alison in shock for a moment, as if not quite believing that people would be willing to do nice things for her without some kind of price or condition attached. “I… umm…”

“We can talk about it later,” Alison told her with a gentle smile. “I won’t have a use for a second vehicle, and I’d rather it goes to someone who is going to appreciate it. We might not be able to get you into Mrs. Svenson’s class, but we can all teach you a few things about maintaining and repairing cars if you want.”

“Yup, we’ll talk about educating Mallory later,” Clarice agreed with a laugh. “Right now though, we all have to get home, and some of us have jobs to get to. Let’s get going, girls, I need to get Mallory to the café so my parents can put us both to work.”

“B-but… you said we would just be talking to your parents about the possibility,” the Efreeti protested, “What if they don’t like me, or don’t think I can do the job?”

Clarice gave Mallory a wink as she told her, “I already called them and talked to them about it. You’d need training anyway so, based on my recommendation, they’re willing to give you a shot if you want the job. Today will be filling out the proper paperwork and starting your training in the kitchen, so let’s get going, you don’t want to be late on your first day.”

Teary-eyed, and looking like she was about ready to start bawling in happiness, Mallory engulfed the young Deer Woman in a hug. She mumbled, “Thank you,” repeatedly before Clarice assured her that that’s what friends are for. Then we all climbed into our respective rides and headed home.

The rest of the school week passed in a blur as I attended my classes during the days, worked with the Dicken sisters on my training for the stage and the pole once I got home for a couple of hours, and then had dinner and spent the evening with Selina and the other ‘club kids’ doing homework and hanging out every night until it was time to put my Astrae daughter to bed. Usually, Jess and Melody wouldn’t get off from their training shifts in the club until I put Selina to bed so I would try to spend a little quality time with both of them before taking Melody back to my bedroom to sate the horniness that had built up over the day.

School was… well, it was school. I went to classes and hung out with my friends at lunch. Mallory was meshing well with our friend group, and from what Clarice said, she was doing well at her new after-school job. Mallory was happy for the chance to make a bit of spending money to help make things easier for her mom, and worked hard and without complaint, something that Clarice’s parents were very happy with.

Delilah was still trying to cause me problems, with her minions making more false witness reports, but that tactic was getting old and stale after a couple of days. The headmistress was dismissing more and more of these witness accounts after one of them supposedly took place when I was on the other side of the school talking with Ms. Norstrom about more meditation exercises that I could use to increase my control and focus over my magic. Where Delilah was failing to get to me though, I was having a lot more success getting under her skin.

Three times this week I had managed to freeze her bra (while she was wearing it) when some task or another took me near her during class time. I also froze the inside of the lock on her locker once at the end of the day so she had to wait until it thawed before it could be opened, and made the water freezing cold whenever she was showering after gym. The best though was on Thursday during Art Class, which was our last class of the day.

Since we had gotten some fairly heavy snowfall over the last couple of days and it was somewhat warm outside, Mrs. Bealey had decided to have us make snow sculptures for art class. Thanks to my magic lessons with Ms. Norstrom, I was really starting to get a good handle on manipulating snow and ice without needing to panic, and during class, the fruits of those labors were being channeled into immature pranks on my nemesis. I made sure that my work was well within sight of Delilah, and it wasn’t even all that hard since she spent most of our classes together glowering at me or trying to think of ways to make me as miserable as I was making her. Spoiler alert, I was totally winning that little contest.

First, I formed my big pile of snow into a very convincing replica of Delilia and once I was sure she was looking right at the sculpture I’d formed with my magic, I added more snow as needed to make her replica slowly gain weight until it was morbidly obese and added a few warts and stuff to its face. I could practically see steam coming out of Delilah’s ears and smiled to myself as she stormed off toward Mrs. Bealey to narc on me. That was all part of the plan.

Mrs. Bealey was an Inugami; they don’t have magic, and they can’t sense it worth shit. All their paranormal gifts are physical in nature. By the time Delilah got Mrs. Bealey’s attention, and they both turned their attention upon me, I was staring absently at a featureless lump of snow in front of me. Mrs. Bealey looked from Delilah to me and asked, “Is something the matter, Crystal?”

I gave my very best absentminded blink and innocent expression as I turned to the teacher as if I was noticing her for the first time. “Oh, Mrs. Bealey. I just can’t decide what to make for a sculpture.” It was one hundred percent true too, there were sooo many ways that I could mess with Delilah after all.

Mrs. Bealey gave me an encouraging smile and I almost felt bad for pulling a fast one on her as she said, “I’m sure that you’ll think of something. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.”

The moment that the teacher’s back was turned and she started walking away, I focused on reforming the snow into Delilah’s likeness once again, this time rubbing at her eyes and looking like she was crying. The Fire Mage looked ready to blow her top and called out, “Mrs. Bealey!”

By the time the teacher’s head swung around to look our way, I was once again looking pensively at a featureless mound of snow. “Hmmm… what to make.”

The teacher frowned at Delilah and sighed. “Delilah, I am well aware that you seem to have some sort of grudge against Crystal, but perhaps you should be focusing on your own art project instead of bothering her while she’s trying to work on hers.” Then her attention was drawn away as a pair of Delilah’s minions called out when the snow that they were working with mysteriously collapsed.

The formless lump of snow before me shifted again, forming a copy of me this time which was buck-ass nude and giving Delilah the finger. I thought she might explode, but sadly that didn’t happen. For the rest of class, whenever the teacher or our classmates weren’t looking our way, I kept taunting her with various snow sculptures ranging from naughty and suggestive to childish representations of her doing things like picking her nose. Keeping the teacher and Delilah’s minions from looking our way was as easy as occasionally reaching out with my Ice magic to collapse a snow sculpture in progress.

By the end of class, I stopped goofing off and made a magnificent snow sculpture of me and my sister together. I was even nice enough to help Delilah with hers when she looked away nervously toward Mrs. Bealey, who was starting to look over our projects. Her sculpture was cartoony at best, and not even good cartoons, it was like Picasso was working with snow.

“Very nicely done, Crystal. This is a very lifelike representation of you and… your sister?” Mrs. Bealey offered when it was my turn to receive critique.

“Yes, Ma’am, that’s me and Jess. We’re really close, I can’t imagine my life without her,” I replied cheerfully.

Mrs. Bealey went on to look at two other projects before approaching Delilah, who was furiously trying to change her ‘sculpture’ while the snow wasn’t cooperating at all. It was still very much the cube of snow that I had created with my magic. “Is this…” the teacher started to say as she searched for words.

“The limits of her artistic talent?” I murmured just loud enough for Delilah to hear and shoot me a glare. Maybe I should stop harassing the poor girl and give her a hand? Nah. Why can’t I do both? I ‘wandered’ over and looked over the block of ice and gave it a thoughtful look. “You know, Mrs. Bealey, this looks very familiar. I think it might be a sculpture of Delilah’s car. If she had time to work on the finer details more, I’m sure it would be very impressive.”

The look Delilah was giving me now could curdle dairy products. I was feeling very pleased with myself overall when the bell rang, and Mrs. Bealey dismissed us all for the day. I was walking back to the main building to get my stuff from my locker when Delilah stomped past me through the snow and shoved me, “You suck, bitch.”

I couldn’t resist, the words came out of my mouth instantly. “Only when patrons at the club pay for it. Your dad really seems to enjoy it though. He’s very vocal.” I wasn’t actually working at the club yet, but I was old enough to, and while I might not have actually seen her father in the club yet, she didn’t need to know that, and I did know that he was a regular there. I have no sense of shame or modesty and putting that image in her head would be so worth it. Also, none of it was really a lie since her father wouldn’t come back to the club if he didn’t enjoy it and the last time I had seen him he was very vocal… about his displeasure with his daughter.

She turned around to glower at me, her face red with fury, and snarled, “What?”

I didn’t miss a beat. With my biggest and lewdest smile, I waggled my eyebrows at her. “Oh, I think you heard me. Did you know that your dad has the cutest little mole on his…”

If she had any fire available at that moment, I probably would have been putting just how fireproof I was to the test. As it was, she took a swing at me before I could finish my sentence, which was a blessing really, because I had absolutely no clue how I had been going to finish it and I couldn’t lie. Was inferring something that I had no real knowledge about a lie? Seemed like it since the words had stuck in my throat before I could get specific.

Nuh-uh, bitch, attacking me when I’m surrounded by snow and ice is not going to work out for you. I didn’t lay a finger on her. For one thing, physical violence isn’t really my thing as a Nymph. Lovers, not fighters, and all that. I also didn’t need to since she was currently standing in a foot of snow and her punch was throwing her weight forward. A thought made the snow under her boots into slick ice as she swung at me and I stepped aside as she overextended, slipped on the ice beneath her feet, and fell face-first into the snow.

As she rose from her faceplant sputtering snow, I controlled the snow around us, packing it around her and sending some into very uncomfortable places, like inside her jacket and top. A moment later, she was completely buried with only her head sticking out and I knelt beside her with a smile on my face as I pointed to the camera above the door we had been walking toward.

“See that? I have you on camera taking a swing at me, so this here is just me defending myself,” I told her as I saw some of the other girls from class hurrying toward us, probably to help her. “Too bad the cameras aren’t set for audio, but I think that tells my side of the story pretty well no matter what ‘witnesses’ you manage to conjure up. Funny how that works, huh? You can go to the headmistress, but the only one who will get in any trouble will be you. I suggest you think about that while your minions are digging you out of there. You shouldn’t poke the Fey, Delilah. Bears have nothing on us, and we always pay our debts.”

I stood up and walked away as a trio of girls hurriedly began digging Delilah out of the hard-packed snow. Then I headed back inside and straight toward my locker. If Delilah was stupid enough to go to the headmistress, I would handle it, but I was pretty sure that I’d managed to get my point across.

When I managed to get to my locker, both Melody and Jessica were already waiting for me. “You’re looking very pleased with yourself, Sis,” Jessica commented as I approached.

“Immensely,” I agreed with a grin. “Art class was both fun and productive.”

“Does it have anything to do with that, Babe?” my girlfriend inquired, tilting her head to the four girls passing us as they made their way down the main hallway. One of those girls was, of course, Delilah, who was still liberally covered in snow and glaring at me as they passed us by.

“However, did you guess?” I retorted cheerfully.

Completely aside from my messing with Delilah, I had plenty of reason to be happy this week. My evening practices with the Dicken sisters were going well and I had a bit of a breakthrough with Cinder on Tuesday. My symbiotic Salamander was able to manifest her physical form, outside of my body, for the first time.

She couldn’t get a flame going yet and couldn’t stay outside of my body for long either, but this was a major milestone in her growth, one that I was sure to tell her how happy and proud I was of her for. It also gave me the chance to show her some physical affection for the first time after I got over the confusion. Still feeling her presence in the back of my mind but also having her as a physical presence outside of my body took a little getting used to that first time.

It would be a while before she could stoke a flame or keep her physical form for longer than a few minutes at a time, but we now had a starting point, and it was something that we were going to work on when we had time at home. We were also working more on our communication. I was sensing stronger emotions and nascent thoughts from her young mind, but I had a feeling that we were on the cusp of something more there as well. I couldn’t wait until Cinder was able to put her thoughts into words, or something that was easier to understand than the vague feelings and concepts that I was getting from her up until now.

Things were also going well in Auto Shop and in regards to the Supra in general. On Tuesday, with Bella’s help, I was able to pull the engine from the vehicle so I could start taking it apart, and I even got it onto a lift so I could get a look at the underside and examine the drivetrain. It was in far better condition than I feared, given what the engine had been put through when it blew. Overall, the axles were looking fine, and the driveshaft was still in good condition and really only needed some realignment and some new U-joints, which I had already ordered. Honestly, it looked like most of the work on the Supra was going to be cosmetic stuff and the engine stuff.

Not that taking apart the engine, cleaning and inspecting every single component, and then putting it back together was going to be an easy task. I was certain that quite a few of the blown components were going to have to be replaced with new ones, either from the wrecking yard or custom-ordered, and inspecting every single component in the first place was going to be tedious at best. Not to mention that once the engine was rebuilt, I would have to reinstall it and start running tests to make sure that everything worked properly.

It was going to be a long process, but one that would be worth it in the end once the Supra was running properly and I could start driving it around. I was fully expecting to run into unexpected issues as well. First things first though, once the engine and cosmetic damage were repaired, I could start running the tests and fixing any other issues that cropped up. This was a long-term project, and I probably wouldn’t be finished for months. I just hoped that I would be finished by Graduation.

Thursday afternoon, I got a call from Auto-Worx Parts ‘n Mods to inform me that the parts and mods that I had ordered for the Supra were in. I was on cloud nine when I checked the messages on my phone after school and immediately went there to pick everything up before heading home. I was so eager to get to work on making the Supra look less like an accident victim and more like the beast of a car that it was meant to be.

Now it was Friday, my last class before lunch was Auto Shop, and today was a work day rather than going over book lessons and technical knowledge. “Someone’s eager to get to work,” Alison teased as I practically vibrated with excitement on our way to class.

“Like you don’t want to work on that Jeep of yours,” I retorted, prompting a grin from the blonde Glaistig.

As soon as class began, we all split up to start working on our projects. Even Carmen was starting to get into what she was doing. She had gotten most of the replacement panels and the hood installed and her Kia Optima SX Turbo was starting to look pretty sweet, at least on the outside. I think that seeing what progress she was already making was doing a lot for Carmen’s confidence.

Granted, her car still had a lot of work ahead to make it more than just look like a working vehicle. It would still need a new paint job and most of the work was still ahead, replacing the engine and transmission with the ones we had broken down from the donor car, but she was off to a good start. She might be taking longer doing the work than most of us would, but she was making visible progress with the cosmetic stuff, and it was work she was doing mostly on her own, once she was shown how.

While Carmen tried to finish the outside work on her Optima, and the others worked on their own projects, I was hoping to get the cosmetic stuff done on my Supra today as well. I only needed to replace the headlight, grille, and front bumper panel and the car would look as good as new, at least, from the outside. I was confident that it wouldn’t take me long, and then I would start doing the work on the drive shaft, which would consist of taking it apart, giving it a closer look to make sure there were no hairline cracks or other damage I might have missed, and reinstalling it with the new U-joints.

By the time that class ended, I had finished most of that work. I still needed to properly reinstall the drive shaft, but it was ready to go and wouldn’t take long once I got to it next week. Still, I was in a good mood and feeling accomplished as we all left the shop and headed to the cafeteria for lunch. “You know, this mechanics stuff isn’t so bad, after all,” Carmen said to the group in general as we made our way there. “I know I still have a lot of work to actually get my baby running, but I got all the panels replaced and it looks a lot better now. I’m learning a lot too.”

~ One of us… one of us… ~ Nikki’s musical mental voice teased, getting a laugh out of everyone.

“Crystal, Delilah is incoming,” Mallory’s voice quietly warned as we were all sitting and eating lunch.

Awww, I was having a nice, Delilah-free day and my progress in Auto Shop had put me in a really good mood. I knew that I was probably going to have to deal with her in Gym and Home Economics, my last two classes today, but I had been hoping to put that off just a little longer while I enjoyed my lunch and the company of my friends. I wasn’t the only one not happy to see her as everyone was glowering at a spot somewhere behind me, including my sister and our girlfriends, who had to turn around to do so.

I finished the bite of my chicken sandwich that I was currently chewing, let out a long sigh, and turned around to face Delilah as she approached our table. She did not look happy, or even healthy, today as she strode toward our table with a purpose. She was pale, but her cheeks and nose bore a slight flush, and her eyes looked a bit blotchy and swollen. I’m sure she would have covered up if she could have, but we weren’t allowed to wear makeup or jewelry at school.

She sounded as bad as she looked, her voice a little raspy and she was sniffling a bit as she said… something that I didn’t quite catch even with my excellent hearing. Something about juice? In any case, she looked miserable at the mere action of approaching our table and possibly being seen with us. I wasn’t feeling particularly sympathetic. Okay, maybe a little bit, but only about the fact that she seemed to be sick, and it might possibly be related to me burying her in the snow yesterday.

“No, Crystal. Don’t feel bad for her, she’s only getting what she deserves,” I tried to convince myself.

“You’ll have to speak up, and maybe use English, Delilah,” Rose snarked, “Not all of us speak mumble.” The bunnies’ ears were better than mine, and I had a feeling that both Rose and my sister had heard exactly what Delilah said, whatever it was.

Delilah looked at my sister’s girlfriend like she wanted to turn her into rabbit stew or something. “I said…” she started before hesitating and looking like choking out whatever words were to come after was causing her physical pain. Well, her throat did sound a bit raspy, but I suspected that that had nothing to do with the look on her face as she finished by adding, “I’d like to call a… truce.”

It was probably as close as she could come to admitting defeat. In response, she got nothing but a bevy of dirty looks from everyone at our table. My sister looked particularly non-sympathetic as she crossed her arms over her chest and said, “Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen, we haven’t even come close to extracting the price that you owe for what you pulled on our birthday.”

“You want… money?” Delilah croaked out with a look of confusion on her face.

“Do you know anything about the Fey?” Trixie said with a look that said exactly how stupid she thought Delilah was. “She was talking about the long price. Revenge, to put it in a word that you can actually understand.”

“Seriously, how can you be so ignorant about Paranormals and still come to this school? The first three things my mom taught me when I Manifested were to keep a low profile and a disguise on around normies, always keep an eye out for Snatchers, and never ever fuck with the Fey if you value your life and happiness,” Clarice added with a frown. “There’s a reason they call it the long price. Those who cross them suffer for a very long time.”

I could see Delilah’s temper begin to flare up in real time as she was being called out on her ignorance. I needed to get ahead of this before someone, probably Delilah, did something stupid that they would later regret. Or maybe I should encourage that? With a smile, I locked my gaze on Delilah and offered, “I propose a deal.” That was something else she should probably learn to be cautious about around the Fey and this was school, so it was the perfect place for a lesson.

Everyone’s eyes immediately turned toward me, and I could see a mix of curiosity and mischief in the eyes of my sister, Rose, and Trixie as they hung on to my next words. “I will agree to your truce for one week, long enough for you to get over whatever has you sounding and looking so terrible. Or should you publicly apologize for and admit everything you’ve done to me and my friends; I will have no more quarrel with you. Should you choose the temporary truce instead, I will not do anything to harm or harass you for the next week. If you do anything to harass me or those close to me during that time, then the deal is off.”

There was no way that Delilah was going to admit, let alone apologize, for everything she had done, and we all knew it. However, I felt that it was only fair to give her the option, and it would be nice to end this feud for good if possible. Predictably, she took the easy option as she replied, “I’ll take the truce.”

I shook my head as I narrowed my focus only on my nemesis. “No, Delilah, this needs to be done properly. This is a verbal contract after all, and we have witnesses. My offer is that I will do nothing to harm or harass you for the next week and in return, you will not do anything to harm or harass me or those close to me nor plot with anyone else to do so. The deal ends at lunchtime next Friday, or if should you break the terms of the contract. If you agree, then say, ‘I accept the terms of your contract, Crystal.’ If you do that, then our truce can begin.”

For a moment, Delilah looked like she was being forced to swallow shards of broken glass before she forced out the words, “I… accept the terms of your contract, C-Crystal.” She practically choked on my name.

As she did so, I could feel the magic as I was bound to that deal. “A deal has been struck, and I will keep my end of it,” I announced with a grin.

“Fine,” Delilah snapped before turning on her heel to turn away.

Surprisingly, out of all my friends, it was Mallory who called out to her former friend’s retreating back. “Hey, Delilah, a word of advice from a ‘friend’ but you should be careful when making deals with the Fey. Crystal just got you to promise to leave all of us alone for a week and not get anyone else to do anything to us either and while she promised that she would not do anything to you for that time and is bound to her word, she didn’t say anything about the rest of us.”

The retreating Fire Mage stiffened at the Efreeti’s words but even more as Alison cheerfully agreed, “Yup. We might do something, or we might not. Who knows, but won’t it be fun to find out which?”

Delilah hurried away as our table erupted in a chorus of giggling girls. Once she was gone Nikki, who was still silently giggling, projected her thoughts to the rest of us. ~ I’m not sure which would be more fun, messing with her knowing that she can’t mess back without fear of Crystal coming for her again, or letting her think we’re going to and keeping her on edge while waiting for it to happen. ~

Bella’s mouth twisted upward in an evil grin as she said in a tone quiet enough not to carry toward any of the nearby tables, “Why not both? We could let her stew until Tuesday or Wednesday and then anything goes.”

“Yes, that,” Nova agreed as she tried to stop giggling. “We definitely need to do that.”

“Oh, yes,” Trixie concurred with a predatory smile, “this is going to be fun.”

Carmen was trying not to laugh and shook her head as she pointed out, “You’re all really vindictive, you know that, right? I wish I had useful magic that would let me get in on this though. That bitch needs to learn her lesson.”

“My dear Carmen, we don’t need magic to mess with her. The normies prank each other all the time without it. Stick with me and we’ll get our licks in too, I guarantee it,” Clarice offered as she put an arm around the Healer’s shoulder and gave her a conspiratorial wink.

“Let the games begin,” Jess said. From the smiles on the faces of her and her girlfriend, I could tell that the bunnies were already making plans of their own.

Melody was the most serious of us all, looking very pensive as she turned to Mallory and inquired, “You probably know Delilah the best out of all of us, Mallory. How likely is it that she even keeps her part of the deal?”

The Efreeti, who was back to eating her salad with her fork in one hand and doing something on her phone with the other, considered the question as she chewed her mouthful and then smiled at the table at large. “Oh, she’d most likely try to get away with little things while getting Crystal to keep her part of the deal, but her parents place a lot of importance on keeping one’s word and following contracts to the letter. Crystal has a verbal contract with her, and it was witnessed, even if it was only witnessed by us. Still, I think she will find that she has every reason to stick to the agreement right about… now.”

Mallory was grinning like a cat that just ate the canary now and my girlfriend arched an eyebrow as she said, “Okay, I’ll bite. What did you just do?”

“Well…” she began with an innocent look on her face that completely contrasted her conspiratorial tone of voice. “Since I haven’t gotten to blocking her number yet, and I doubt that she even considered blocking mine, I sent her a copy of the video I just took of Crystal making her proposal and her accepting it. Since I included a little reminder that I still have her parents’ numbers as well, I’m sure she’ll be very happy to stick to her part of the deal for the next week.”

I was torn between allowing my jaw to drop at Mallory’s unexpected brazenness or laughing my ass off. I settled for giggling and grinning at the newest member of our group. “Mallory, I could kiss you!” Then, turning to my girlfriend, I batted my eyelashes as I pleaded, “Melody, my love, can I pleeeease kiss her?”

The Efreeti, who I was quite willing and eager to make good on my offer to kiss at the moment, almost choked on her salad as she laughed. Once she managed to calm down, she shook her head. “Sorry, Crystal. As flattered as I am by that offer and as pretty as you are, I must decline. You’re just not my type, I prefer guys.”

I shrugged it off, I would just have to kiss Melody extra passionately later. “You can’t blame a Nymph for trying,” I teased. “I mean, that unexpected deviousness of yours was just so… hot.”

Mallory blushed as she went back to eating her salad while Melody turned to me and cocked an eyebrow playfully as she taunted, “A fire pun for an Efreeti, Babe? That’s a bit obvious.”

“Speaking of obvious puns,” my sister interjected. “It’s a shame that you’re the only one excluded from making Delilah miserable over the next week, Sis. After all, vengeance is a dish best-served cold.”

We all groaned at that, but Clarice immediately pointed out, “I think Crystal has that part down, Jess. First, she froze Delilah’s clothes, and with all of the cold showers she’s been making her take…”

“She’s also frozen her bra at least twice this week, that I know of, and both times while she was wearing it,” Mallory pointed out helpfully.

“Actually, I froze her bra three times,” I admitted quietly with a grin. “The two times in Home Economics and once while I was passing her in Art class to ask Mrs. Bealey something.”

“Just the thought gives me chills,” Trixie said with a dramatic shiver. “I’ll have to step up my game with my Wood magic once we start having our fun because I plan to get enough payback for both me and Crystal.”

Bella snorted in amusement. “Between the cold showers, her frozen tits, and what you did to her yesterday afternoon, it’s no wonder she’s catching a cold.” As we went back to eating our lunches and talking about our plans for the weekend, I felt a little bad that I might be responsible, in part, for Delilah getting sick, but I firmly reminded myself that if she didn’t want to get cold, then she shouldn’t have fucked with a Snow Nymph.

Both of my classes that afternoon were disturbingly average. Even though Delilah was in both classes, I was bound to not mess with her, and she seemed to take Mallory’s threats seriously, especially since the Efreeti shared both of those classes as well. And since my sister, Rose, Clarice, and the others all decided to make her sweat for a while before making Delilah miserable, I couldn’t even watch them mess with her.

I actually felt a little miffed as I watched Delilah delight in her first hot shower after gym class this week. As much as I wanted to do something though, I had made a deal, and I would have kept my promise even if I wasn’t magically bound to do so. I just never expected that not being able to push her buttons or play magical pranks on her would make my classes so… boring.

It wasn’t all bad, I guess. It was nice being able to bake a new cookie recipe with my sister without worrying about what petty bullshit Delilah would try next. Her obvious discomfort at being Mallory’s partner was mildly amusing as well. Also, Mallory was right, she was pretty good in a kitchen when I wasn’t constantly freezing their stuff. Knowing about how tight Mallory and her mother were for money, it was also nice seeing her be able to bake something nice that she could take home as a treat and share with her mother.

Gym class was actually kind of funny when I thought about it. We played dodgeball and while my deal with Delilah made me unwilling to target her since it might count as messing with her, she was actively avoiding targeting me and my friends as well. Her minions didn’t seem to have any problem with it though, so she must not have talked to them about it one way or the other. Most of the other girls on my team had no issues throwing balls at Delilah and friends though, often with great veracity and velocity.

We won, mostly because most of the Fey species were on our side and we’re damn graceful and agile, not to mention quick when we want to be. Clarice was no slouch in any of those departments either. Still, watching Delilah enjoy that hot shower was a little bit vexing. I like to think that I wasn’t immature or petty enough to let it bother me though, and I put it out of my mind by the time that I was at my locker with Jess and Melody and getting ready to go home for the weekend.

“Nice work, Crystal, that pole routine was practically flawless,” Anita said with an encouraging grin.

“Yeah, that was sexy as hell,” Adora agreed with a matching expression. “You’re getting very good with the flirtatious body language and expressions when you’re on the stage and the pole too.”

Stella nodded as she looked me over thoughtfully before adding, “You have both of the stage routines that we’ve been working on down too. You’re probably ready to hit the main stage tonight. Do you want to talk with your mom and Pan to see if they’ll put you on tonight? I’m sure they’d be willing to give you a slot if we say you’re ready.”

“Pffft! She already has a slot, Sis, and I’m sure she’s going to have all the men here wanting to see it, up close and personal,” Adora joked after a snerk of amusement and with a very suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

Wow, it’s a good thing that Nymphs have no sense of modesty or shame because otherwise, I would probably have been blushing bright red at that raunchy joke. Not to mention the hint of giving extra services that it implied. Hell, I gave a snort of amusement of my own at the joke. Given what I was and what job I was almost ready to start doing professionally, I had two choices when it came down to the preconceptions people might have about me, either fight them head-on or roll with it, take it in stride, and learn to find the humor in it.

The Dicken sisters were similar, and they were my friends and mentors too. Given their shared raunchy sense of humor, and the fact that they seemed to enjoy their work very much, I assumed that they took the latter option, and I was cool with trying to do that too. In fact, I was kind of looking forward to my new job, except for my nagging doubts and a sudden case of stage fright.

I had gotten home from school almost two hours ago and almost immediately began my training session with the Dicken sisters. We had been working hard since, trying to iron out any kinks in my stage and pole routines. My mentors seemed to think that I was ready, but I was plagued with doubts and worries about what might happen when I tried performing in front of people for the first time.

“I dunno, do you really think I’m ready? I feel like that last routine was still a little rough and I can do better. Maybe we should take another week and…” I began to protest before Anita cut me off.

“Crystal, I couldn’t have done that routine much better, and I’m the best pole dancer at the club,” she said as she ended my protest and wrapped me up in a hug. “First-time jitters, huh?”

“No! I… well, maybe?” I replied, my voice trembling a bit.

Adora and Stella quickly joined their sister in crushing me in a hug and one of the pair said, “We all get the jitters our first time, Crystal, but you’re going to do great.”

“How about a compromise?” I think it was Stella who said it since out of the three she seemed to be the most mature. “You towel off and get dressed and then we’ll all head downstairs for some dinner. After we eat, we’ll talk to Tiff and Pan about getting you on the schedule for tomorrow night. No getting out of it, you have to woman up and stick to the schedule they set for you tomorrow night. We can spend the morning doing one last practice session to work out the kinks before you and Carmen go to meet your friends at the wrecking yard for the afternoon.”

“I…” I wasn’t sure, I was too nervous. “It still feels too soon,” I murmured.

“That’s the thing about first-time jitters,” one of the girls said sympathetically. “You’re never going to feel like you’re ready until you get out there and get some real experience. Now, come on, Crystal, you’re ready so woman up and say it with me… ‘I’ll perform tomorrow night.’ It’s just four little words.”

“I’ll… perform tomorrow night.” My heart was racing, and my throat was almost too tight to get the words out and I could feel the weight of them settle upon me. They had the weight of a promise or a deal, maybe a little bit of both and there was no getting out of this now. That was dirty, but at the same time, it sort of made it easier too, and eased the weight of worry upon my heart and mind as well as I was truly committed to this course of action.

Still, I complained as the girls released me from their embrace, “That was mean, using my Feyness against me like that.”

“Yeah, it kinda was,” Adora admitted, “but if I didn’t, you’d keep looking for ways to get out of it and you’d be nervous and beating yourself about continuing to put it off. Now you’ll do it, and trust me, you’re ready. No matter what happens we’ll be there for you and so will your mom, Pan, Rhissa, and everyone else who lives at the club. We’re your family, and we’ve got your back.”

My grumbled half-protests were cut short as a thrown towel smacked me in the face and Anita playfully stuck her tongue out at me. “Now get dried off so we can go downstairs and eat something. We still have some things to do to prepare for your debut tomorrow night.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled as I started using the towel for that very purpose. “And don’t stick that tongue out at me unless you plan to use it.” Wow, I really was starting to adopt their sense of humor, I would have to be careful about that at school.

For a moment, Anita just stared at me in shock that I had been so verbally suggestive. That was usually their shtick after all. Then she grinned at me and asked, “Was that a threat or a promise? Ooh… I hope it was a promise.” The last was added with a playful waggle of her eyebrows and a leer.

Stella made a show of rolling her eyes and letting out a dramatic sigh, but she couldn’t hide her smile as she said, “Well, we’ve successfully turned our protégé to the dark side, are you two happy now?”

“Yes!” “Very!” came two immediate replies as I finished toweling off and started getting dressed.

“You three are shameless. Why am I your friend again?” I asked as I slipped on my panties and started to maneuver myself into my bra.

“Because we have so much in common, like that shameless thing, and we taught you to shake your money maker,” Adora suggested with a Cheshire grin. “Admit it, you love us!”

“Yeah, yeah, sure I do,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. I couldn’t quite hold back my smile though.

We didn’t eat our dinner at one of the big booths near the kitchen like we usually would that night. Stella decided that it would be better for me if we instead ate at one of the tables nearest the main stage so that we could be right in the thick of the action and I could get familiar with the atmosphere and watch some of the other dancers at work. It also put us in a spot where we were more available to the club patrons for interaction and conversation.

It wasn’t like any of that was new to me, I had done all of that before on the occasions where I had shadowed Rhissa and my mother after all. Mom and Rhissa had always guided the conversations though, and had kept me away from some of the more… enthusiastic patrons of the club. Did my mentors and good friends, the Dicken sisters, do that?

Hell no. Those succu-bitches (and I use that term in the most affectionate way possible) threw me to the wolves, almost literally in the case of the Werewolf who was just a little too handsy until I firmly set my boundaries with him. They didn’t intervene at all, and I was forced to handle my end of any conversations and politely and firmly turn down any unwelcome advances on my own, preferably without damaging the customers. Damaging the difficult customers was Melody and Aunt Merry’s job after all, and I knew that both of them would have been very happy to do so if someone went too far with me.

I knew what they were doing, of course. They were throwing me in the deep end and checking if I would sink or swim. If I started having a panic attack or something, or they felt like they really did need to intervene for some reason, then they would, but they wanted to make sure I was ready to handle this kind of thing every night on my own. Given that age-old survival choice of sink or swim, I learned to swim pretty damn fast.

The thing to remember here was that in this club, we (the dancers) were the ones in control, not the patrons. Melody and Aunt Merry would eject anyone who was too rowdy or broke the rules and it was our choice which patrons we chose to talk with or offer extra services to, and which ones we would politely decline. Those who we had to decline more firmly knew (or quickly learned) that they would not be rebuffed a third time, the third strike would involve a violent ejection out the door.

It took us almost two hours from the time we sat down to finish our dinner with all the interruptions by curious club patrons. A few had seen me around before when I was shadowing Mom or Rhissa, or hanging out and eating with my mentors, but things were different then. When I was shadowing, it was made clear that I wasn’t working yet, just in training, and there was an unwritten rule about bothering the dancers or other staff while we were at the booths near the kitchen. Those booths were almost an employee refuge, where we went when we really needed a break and just wanted to enjoy our meal quietly and in peace, and the regular customers knew it.

Sitting and having our meal near the main stage, or anywhere other than the large booths by the kitchen, was a sign that we were available to talk and open to propositions for extra services. This was an announcement that I was now fair game. It was still early, just getting into the dinner rush when we sat down, but there were still plenty of club patrons who were interested in trying to get shot at the new Nymph or one or more of the Succubus triplets.

Just before we finally managed to finish eating, we even had a proposition from a table full of guys nearby for a group session, which surprised me a little. Thankfully, Stella decided to take charge in that case. She gave their spokesman a winning smile and actually looked like she was considering it for a minute before shaking her head. “Orgies can be fun, but they take time if you really want to enjoy them, so we usually don’t offer group sessions until closer to closing. All of us except Crystal still have shows to do tonight too. Adora is on in half an hour, I think, so we just wouldn’t have the time. If you’re still around closer to closing, maybe we can sit down and work something out.”

After the guy went back to his table to let his friends know it wasn’t happening, at least not anytime soon, I turned to the sisters and asked, “Group sessions? I didn’t know we offered those.”

Adora shrugged as she replied. “It’s included under party specials. The three of us actually get requests for that a lot. Stella wasn’t lying about them being fun. They tend to go long and really scratch that itch for sex. We also make a ton of money when doing them.”

“And you’re okay with doing that… together?” I asked. I didn’t think I could do that with Jess, like ever, and we weren’t even genetically related. Still, I had to admit that the thought of having sex with twins or triplets was one of my fantasies back when I was a guy. Even now, I was getting a little turned on by thinking about it and looking at the three. No. They were friends, and almost like family. Bad Nymph brain.

“To be fair, we kinda crossed that boundary after we Manifested, and we got used to it,” Anita replied with a shrug. “We were all desperately horny and fairly isolated until we learned to control our shapeshifting and stuff, so we had nobody to turn to but our dad, who we were living with at the time. No way were we doing anything with him, so we… helped each other out. I can understand you not wanting to do anything like that with your mother, Crystal, the thought of doing anything like that with a parent would make me cringe too, and that’s why we set ground rules when negotiating these things, like who we aren’t comfortable being in a group session with.”

Stella was quick to add, “That being said, as much as all the staff here are a big happy family, most of us aren’t related by blood. We just have to be professional, enjoy ourselves in the moment, and what happens in a group session stays there, or amongst those who were directly involved. We actually had a session like that with Rhissa once not long before you arrived, and since then we’ve all been much closer friends.”

“Being professional and enjoying the moment for the fun it is, is the key, Crystal,” Adora pointed out. “Given what we all do for a living, and working together like we do, it’s a given that we’re all going to see one another naked or in some sort of intimate manner. Is seeing each other having sex, and maybe being involved and enjoying it as well, really that much worse than seeing each other stripping and teasing the audience while naked on a stage or pole? You get used to it, and it’s only awkward if you make it awkward.”

They were probably right. I was getting used to seeing the other dancers who lived upstairs naked and performing, and I no longer batted an eye at even seeing my mother do it. I would never want to do a group session with her though. Objectively, I know my mother is hot, but she’s my mom so I don’t really see her that way, and doing anything more than watching her perform was going to be a hard no.

It was similar with Pandora and Genevieve. Pandora was going to be my stepmother soon and Genevieve was Lou’s mother, and that would make things with my Werewolf friend super awkward. I was glad Jess wasn’t an entertainer at the club, but if she was, she’d definitely be on the no-list too.

Rhissa I was kinda unsure about. Come Spring Break, she was going to be my stepsister, even if she was only Pandora’s daughter by adoption. I couldn’t deny being attracted to her though, and the way she had used that to mercilessly tease me and test my self-control before our first shopping trip together wasn’t exactly giving off sister vibes. I hadn’t grown up with her like I had with Jess either, and Rhissa and I were both adults who were in no way related yet. I was going to classify Rhissa as a maybe, leaning toward hell yeah.

I couldn’t believe that I was seriously considering which of the women I lived with and cared about that I would potentially have group sex with. What even is my life now? I was broken out of my thoughts as one of the sisters said, “A penny for your thoughts, Crystal.”

“Give me that penny, Stella, I already know what she’s thinking. She’s making a mental list of the entertainers here who she wouldn’t consent to being in a group session with,” Anita said with a smile as she reached out to place her hand on mine. “If it helps, try to think of those you might be cool doing it with as friends with benefits, very fun benefits, that you can make a lot of money with.”

“Thanks, I think I’d be okay doing things with pretty much everyone but my mom, Pandora, and Genevieve,” I said, reciting my mental no-list.

“Yeah, all of those are understandable,” Stella said pensively. “To be honest, I would have thought Rhissa and Carmilla would be on that list too though.”

“Yeah, well Rhissa is sexy and a total tease, and it might be nice to see her squirming for a change. Does Carmilla really… she treats almost everyone who lives above the club as a kid, and she’s the momma bear. I can’t picture her even…” I said, trailing off as I tried and failed to get that picture in my mind. Okay, she was definitely on the no-list too.

“You’re right about Carmilla,” Adora said with a faint smile. “This is her nest and, to her, we’re almost all children under her protection. Even though she’s a lesbian, the only two she’ll do group sessions with are Tiffani and Pandora, probably because she sees them as her fellow founders and matriarchs of this nest.”

“Oh, thank the Divine,” I muttered, letting out a long slow breath. Not only does Carmilla give off total momma bear vibes, but she’s also one of the scariest Paranormals on the planet. I also couldn’t stop picturing her in dominatrix gear since I heard that that was what most of the men who wanted her extra services were into.

I had to mentally thank Anita as she pulled me out of that terrifying mental image by pointing out, “Look how flexible Sukoha is.”

I found myself staring at the Kuromihar on the stage with the lights shining on her glistening pale green skin and long crimson hair as she was arranged in a very compromising position on stage, her charms on display for everyone to see. Wow, Anita was right, she really was flexible. I didn’t think that even I could lick my own... She’s definitely on the yes-list, as in yes, please. Oh great, and now I was getting horny… well, hornier.

“Well, as much as I enjoy seeing Sukoha work, and Crystal blushing like that, I’m on in fifteen minutes and Stella is on after me, so we need to start getting ready to go on stage. And we should go talk to Pandora and Tiffani about Crystal starting work tomorrow night too,” Adora said with a teasing grin.

The three led me backstage, where my mom and Pandora were snuggling on a couch where dancers could chill between performances if they weren’t feeling like interacting with the club patrons and offering extra services. Both of them had been on stage earlier while we were eating dinner, my mother before Sukoha took the stage. They looked up at our approach and both were smiling as their gazes focused on me.

“So, girls, is Crystal ready for the stage yet?” Pandora asked my mentors.

“Yup, though she has a bad case of the first-time jitters,” Stella announced. “We’re going to give her one more training session in the morning and you can put her on the schedule for tomorrow night. Feel free to work her pretty little ass off.”

“Good, it’s Saturday tomorrow so we can have her work a full shift to break her in,” my future stepmother said with an unnerving smile. “We’ll give her a few shows on the main stage and have her work one of the mini stages on and off for most of the night when she’s not on the main stage, offering extra services, or taking a break. That is if she wants to offer the extra services. Is that something that you’re ready for, Crystal?”

“I… umm…” I hesitated. On the one hand, I could get all the sex a Nymph could want that way, but on the other hand, I was having some major performance anxiety about both dancing and having sex with potential strangers for money.

“This is your decision, Crystal,” Anita said as she wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a friendly hug. “I think you should do it though. Don’t overthink it. Honestly, the best way to get over the hump is to just say ‘fuck it’ and do it.”

Adora immediately agreed. “Yeah, it’s just sex it’s supposed to be fun, not stressful. So, if someone asks you, and he’s not a total creeper, then have fun and make a bit of cash doing it. The guys are usually a lot more nervous than we are too, especially with pretty girls like you. You’re the one in control. So, all you need to do is take him to one of the rooms upstairs and take matters in hand. I’m sure he’ll rise to the occasion and once you’re over your nerves you’ll cum to enjoy it, hopefully, several times.”

I giggled. Their damn sex puns and lewd expressions got me to giggle and relieved some of the tension that I was feeling, which was probably the entire point. “I’ll give it a try,” I conceded. “If I don’t feel comfortable with someone then I just need to say no, right? And I’ll be the one in control.”

“Awww… my baby is all grown up,” Mom blubbered, practically crying as she leaped out of Pandora’s arms and off the couch to crush me in a hug. “Don’t you worry, Snowflake, you’ll do just fine.”

After that, the Dicken triplets left me in Mom and Pandora’s capable hands. The pair spent the next twenty minutes giving me a refresher on the club rules, the drink codes if someone offered to buy me a drink and I didn’t want anything alcoholic, and what to do if a patron was causing trouble. In most cases, the latter was pretty obvious, call Aunt Merry or Melody to bounce them. That was only if it happened in the public areas of the club though.

I did have the possibility of calling Melody via the Salamander network and getting her to teleport to me, but that wasn’t a thing for most of the other dancers and they made it clear that I shouldn’t count on it if I thought I might be in immediate danger. There were also special circumstances to consider, such as if I was somewhere where other people couldn’t see, like in one of the rooms upstairs giving the client extra services. It had happened to girls working here before, even if very rarely, and could always happen again.

If that was the case, and the customer tried to go against the limits set up beforehand or push for something that hadn’t been agreed upon and wouldn’t take no for an answer, I was allowed to take action to defend myself. I could obviously contact Melody to bounce him, but if I felt threatened, I could take other action until she could arrive. In my case, I would be free to unleash full frontal freezing fury upon them. We had the right to work in a safe environment and defend ourselves if that safety was threatened, and the club would support any girl who worked here if it came to that.

Once they were both done making sure that I knew all the procedures and other important information about working at the club, they worked on adding me to the schedule for tomorrow night. It looked like I would be working my butt off from open to close, but I did have a dinner break and several smaller breaks in there, including one from nine o’clock to nine thirty so I could go upstairs and spend a little bit of quality time with Selina while getting her in bed. I thought that was sweet of both of them to consider my daughter’s needs like that, but they were both being all grandmotherly over her since she showed up, so I guess it wasn’t surprising.

After that, Mom half-dragged me to the costume racks for all of the dancers, where she pulled out one of the rolling clothing racks from the back and, smiling from ear to ear, she said, “Tada!”

The rack had my name on it, in sparkly blue cursive script no less, and it was full of clothes. There had to be a good two dozen different stage costumes and underwear sets there. “Is all that for me, Mom? How?” I sputtered.

“Lana has been working her butt off on costumes for your shows since you agreed to work here just before Christmas,” Mom told me with a proud grin as she hugged me. “All the rest of us already had a large assortment of stage wear, and we wanted to be ready for you when you officially start work. Most of us started with a couple of costumes and worked our way up to what we have now, but with the baby coming soon, Lana wanted to have a wide assortment ready for you before she’s too preoccupied with feedings, diaper changes, and not sleeping at night for what could be months to a year.”

I was a little bit shocked and touched by the effort, but I frowned as I turned to my mother. “I appreciate the effort, really I do, but she shouldn’t have been working so hard, Mom. Isn’t all that stress bad for her and the baby?”

“It’s not stressful if you love what you do,” Lana pointed out as she stepped out of her office/sewing room with a hand resting on her swollen belly. “I had so many ideas for you that I wanted to see you wear on stage, Crystal, so you better work your way through all of them while I’m laid up, got it? If you really feel that bad about it, then you’ll just have to babysit for us on the occasional Sunday when Derek and I need a break from the baby.”

“I think I can manage that. Thanks, Lana,” I replied with a grateful smile as I broke free from Mom’s hug and gave one to Lana, being careful not to squeeze her too hard with the baby on board.

Lana showed me all the stage costumes she had made for me after that, along with what panty and bra sets went with each, and even had some ideas on how I could do my makeup with each outfit if I wanted to be dramatic and more eye-catching than usual. Each outfit she showed me was amazing and if I was going to be forced to wear clothes, even if it was just to get on stage to take them off, then these were clothes I wouldn’t mind wearing at all. There were some that would make me look so damn sexy, while others were meant to captivate the audience with each piece that I removed.

There was one outfit in particular that caught my eye though. It was just so… me. It had this whole ice princess look to it, and I just knew that when I wore that every eye in the house would be on me from the moment that I stepped out on stage.

There wasn’t much at all to the underwear for the outfit, merely a simple pair of ice blue thong panties that would cover the important part until I was ready to take them off, and a pair of similarly colored pasties to cover my nipples. There was also a pair of white thigh-high stockings that looked like they been lightly dusted with silver and blue glitter. For shoes, there was a simple pair of white three-inch stilettos that would probably make my legs look amazing.

On top of all that, I would wear a mini dress that had spaghetti shoulder straps and a longer hem in the back than in the front. In front, the dress would barely reach down to my thighs, tapering lower to reach my knees in the back. The dress was made entirely of sheer, ice-blue material that would probably leave nothing to the imagination if it weren’t for the silvery-white sequin snowflakes that were artistically arranged all over it, including some in just the right spots to obscure the areas that would be of most interest to my audience.

A hooded half cape of the same icy blue shade as the thong and pasties with white faux-fur trim and a snowflake clasp would hang just low enough in the front to obscure my chest further but give brief sneak peeks to what was hinted at underneath whenever I moved the right way. The outfit even had a sparkly silver tiara that resembled a half snowflake. I was so in love with that outfit and the thought of how it would look on me when I stepped out on stage that as soon as Lana finished her show and tell for it, I said, “That’s the one. That’s what I want to wear for my first show.”

To my surprise, Lana extracted a twenty-dollar bill from somewhere and immediately handed it to Mom following my announcement. Mom was doing a horrible job of trying not to look smug, or just not trying at all, as she said, “I told you she’d pick that one. I know my daughter.”

“Hmmph, we haven’t even shown her the naughty schoolgirl outfit that I said she was going to pick yet,” Lana retorted. Wait. Naughty schoolgirl outfit? Well… maybe for my second show tomorrow night.

Saturday morning, the Dicken sisters got me started on my final practice session immediately after breakfast on the main stage, while Melody, Jess, Carmen, and Lou were all getting hand-to-hand combat and self-defense lessons from Aunt Merry and Annika. Saying it was my final practice session was a bit of a misnomer though since, even if I was ready for the stage now, I would still have to keep practicing and developing my skills if I was to make a career of this. I would also occasionally have to come up with new routines, though my mentors offered to help with that when I needed it and told me that some routines could be improvised on the fly, so long as I had the basics down.

Still, it would be my last practice session before I was on the stage in front of paying customers later that night, and I wanted to make the most of it. I still felt like I could do better, like there were little errors that I could still iron out, even if my mentors thought I was doing great. They were probably right about me making excuses, and if I hadn’t already committed to performing that night, I would have kept finding reasons to put it off.

I had the jitters bad, terrified of the performances to come that night and of making a fool of myself in front of a bunch of paying customers and people I cared about. I was worried about letting my mentors down too and proving that their faith in me was unfounded. Logically, I knew that I was just nervous, afraid, and being too hard on myself, but that’s the thing about fear, it doesn’t give a shit about what’s logical.

So, I worked my pretty little ass off and continued trying to iron out issues that probably didn’t exist while the sisters watched my performances and encouraged me that I was doing great and was sure to be a big hit with the club patrons. Maybe I was extra self-conscious because my mentors weren’t the only ones watching my practice session and it felt more like a dress rehearsal, making it more real. I was doing my act in the costumes that I planned on wearing for my shows that night and Mom, Pandora, and all the other dancers were sitting at tables near the stage watching me.

It almost felt like I was taking a final exam that I hadn’t prepared for at all with all of them watching me the whole time. I tried not to think about it and focus on just going through my performance. I mean, it wasn’t like there weren’t going to be people watching me perform tonight, right? At least these were people that I knew and cared about instead of strangers who were just lusting after my body and probably wanting to do more than just look at it and watch me.

Just the thought of people watching me like that and wanting to do things with me made me wet. Okay, wetter, I am a Nymph after all. These weren’t just some imaginary faceless nobodies though, these were people I cared about, so I tried to keep my horny thoughts at a minimum and focus on the performance. They might be able to give me some constructive criticism or suggestions on how to improve.

I went through both of the stage routines that I had been working on as well as the various pole routines that Anita had been working with me on. Stella had told me that later, when I had more experience and confidence in my skills, I would probably be able to improvise routines spontaneously. Apparently, most of the dancers did that unless they were bored with their usual routines and wanted to come up with something new and interesting.

Every time that someone laughed or said something that I couldn’t quite hear over the music, I would get nervous, and my eyes would shift in their direction. I tried not to let it affect my performance, but I couldn’t help but be worried that they were talking or joking about something I had messed up on. I knew that wasn’t the case, of course, but performance anxiety was making my brain go all worst-case scenarios on me.

By the time I finished the routines I had been working on, the Dicken sisters seemed happy with my performance, and I was a little surprised when the other dancers applauded. “I’d do her,” Krysti said with an impish grin.

“Krysti!” Nixie complained as she punched the Kitsune in the shoulder.

“What? Those routines were hot, and she’s a lot better than I was when I first started,” Krysti defended.

“Anyone is better than you when you first started, Krysti,” Nadia teased. “On your first night, you tripped on that long, translucent skirt that you insisted would look so sexy while you were dancing.”

I winced in sympathy as Krysti blushed and complained, “You said that you’d never bring that up again.”

“I lied,” the Lamia said with a teasing smirk.

“You did well, Crystal,” Pandora said, breaking through the pair’s exchange and giving me a sympathetic smile. “You looked a little nervous, and there is always room to improve, but we were all nervous our first times on stage. As long as you remember your routines and have fun with them, you’ll do fine tonight.”

Mom, who was snuggled next to her fiancée, nodded in agreement. “You’re looking good on stage for a newbie, Snowflake, and you’ll only keep getting better with experience. You’re ready for tonight, so go get a shower in and try to enjoy the rest of your day until the club opens.”

With that, everyone else got back to whatever they wanted to do while I made sure that my stage costumes were clean, with a bit of Divine magic the Ms. Norstrom had taught me to cleanse things of dirt and grime. Then I placed them back on my costume rack for later that night before going upstairs to take a shower and get dressed to meet the other Auto Shop girls for a day in the wrecking yard after lunch.

We arrived at Alex’s wrecking yard a little after one o’clock. Since I was planning on helping Carmen finish breaking up the engine and transmission that she needed for her Optima SX Turbo into more manageable pieces for transport. Carmen and I were both wearing our insulated coveralls over our clothes and a pair of insulated work gloves. I didn’t want to be trying to clean a bunch of oil or grease off my skin and clothes before work tonight and they would help keep Carmen warm while we worked.

Melody was with us, to protect us, if necessary, of course, but she was all bundled up in winter gear to keep warm. Selina had come along as well, and she was dressed similarly to me and Carmen since she was going to be hanging out with Nova, helping the Nereid to find and remove more parts for her Toyota Camry. The two were only a year apart in age and it was nice seeing that the two appeared to be getting so close.

The others were waiting, and I was surprised to see Mallory with them. “Hey, everyone,” I called out as we approached. “We can only stick around for a couple of hours today since I need to be back home when the club opens to get ready for work.”

“No worries,” Clarice said with a shrug, “Mallory and I are working tonight too. We need to be back at the café for the dinner rush. Dad has had her working, like every night this week, but he’s giving her tomorrow off. She’s doing really well, and he wants to start training her as an actual line cook tonight. The pay will be a lot better than she gets as a kitchen helper. I thought I’d bring her along with me so we could start teaching her some basic mechanics and stuff.”

I grinned at the Efreeti and offered, “Good for you, Mallory. I’m glad the job is working out for you; I knew you’d do well. I’m a little nervous about starting mine tonight. I have the first-night jitters so bad right now. Working on cars will be a welcome distraction.”

Mallory blushed but said, “Thanks, Crystal. So, I know that Jess tends the bar, and Melody is a trainee bouncer, but what will you be doing there?”

That was when I realized that I hadn’t really mentioned anything about becoming a dancer or the training that I was doing at night with my mentors during our lunch conversations, so Mallory would have no idea about my budding career. “Oh, I’ll be up on stage. I’ve been learning dancing, pole dancing, and stuff since before Christmas and training practically every night.”

The Efreeti’s eyes widened again as she once again blushed. “You’re going to be a stripper?”

“Yeah, I’m told I’m pretty good at it and with the… umm…compulsions and stuff, there aren’t many regular jobs that Nymphs can do. This works for me and it’s fun too, but we prefer the terms ‘dancer’ or ‘erotic entertainer’ over that. ‘Stripper’ sounds dirty. I can make really good money by providing extra services too.” I could see her put two and two together as I mentioned the extra services and asked uncertainly, “Does that make you uncomfortable?”

“What? No!” Mallory surprised me by laughing. “My mom… her night job is providing… services like that. I meant it when I said she’d do anything to keep a roof over our heads. I was always terrified of Delilah finding out about that and I guess it’s made me a bit guarded. If you enjoy doing what you’ll be doing and can get what you need from the job too, all the power to you.”

“Please tell me she’s not working in one of those seedy Paranormal brothels downtown,” I said with a shudder. I had heard about those from Nixie, who had been working at one of them before coming to work at the club a couple of years ago. She’d been in a bad place back then, both figuratively and literally, and the drugs she was on back then blinded her to how bad things really were.

Nixie told me that the brothels were little more than the abandoned buildings they looked like from the outside. They were filthy, rat-infested, and the people who ran the places took most of the money, leaving the girls who did the work with practically nothing to live on. They didn’t give a shit about the health of the girls working there either. If my mom and Pandora hadn’t run across her on a Sunday night trying to turn tricks on the side for some extra cash, Nixie would probably still be in that situation and riddled with STDs or dead.

Apparently, the shudder and the concern in my tone was enough to concern Mallory as well. “Umm… honestly, I don’t know. She doesn’t like to talk about it much. What little time we both have at home together; she tries to spend with me.”

Whether she was working at one of those places or turning tricks independently, neither was the best situation. Both could endanger her health and safety. I didn’t like it. From what Mallory said, and what I had seen of her cheap phone and anything else that Delilah hadn’t had a direct hand in buying for her, they were barely making ends meet, even with her mom working two jobs. They could do better.

I considered the problem and asked thoughtfully. “Hey, Mallory, is your mom as… ummm… hot as you in her Ifreeti form? How well can she control her flames?”

Mallory flipped through her phone, displaying a selfie of her in her Efreeti form with another Efreeti woman who looked very similar, and young enough to be an older sister rather than her mother. I guess Efreeti aged as slowly as their Demon cousins. “That’s me with Mom,” she said. “She can control her flames really well; she can keep them barely manifested for the entire day if she needs to when in her natural form. She’s been wanting to teach me, but she just hasn’t had the time while working so much.”

I quickly shot a text to my mom, hoping that she would be with Pandora, and they would agree to what I was suggesting. I sent a brief explanation of the situation as well before turning my attention back to the Efreeti to ask, “Is your mom working right now?” The odds were likely that she was, but I was hoping she would have a way of contacting her.

“She’s working at the convenience store right now,” Mallory replied almost instantly as the others watched, wondering what I was getting at.

~ Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking, Crystal? ~ Carmen sent along the Salamander network.

She had obviously sent an open message, which I assumed Melody got as well since my girlfriend contributed, ~ If we’re thinking along the same lines, she probably is. You’re thinking about seeing if your mom and Pandora will hire her to work at the club, aren’t you, Babe? ~

~ Yeah, I know we’ll probably have to be careful with certain secrets until we’re sure we can trust Mallory and her mom completely, but I think they deserve a better life than they have, and Mom was just saying yesterday that we could use another Dancer or two, even with me starting tonight. It doesn’t sound like she’d be averse to the work, and she’s really hot. Pun intended. We don’t have any dancers like her at the club yet either… ~ I mentally stammered.

~ I think it’s sweet that you want to help, Babe, ~ my girlfriend soothed. ~ I’ll back you if comes to that. ~

~I’ll back you too. I like Mallory and I think you’re right, she and her mom deserve better, ~ Carmen agreed. That was when I got a call from Pandora’s number.

“Umm… hey, Pandora,” I answered awkwardly.

My future stepmother opened with a teasing, “You’re just like your mother, you know, wanting to help everyone.”

“I don’t try to help everyone,” I heard Mom complain in the background.

“You’re so cute when you pout like that,” Pandora said with a giggle before turning her attention back to me. “For the record, your mother and I approve of your idea. We are willing to give her an interview and a tryout tomorrow, whenever her schedule allows, to get a feel for her. If she has potential, then we’ll offer her the same deal all our full-time girls living above the club get, including room and board for her and her daughter.”

“Really?” I asked, both surprised and relieved.

“Yes, but if that happens, we’ll be having a second interview with her and her daughter, using a truth spell artifact, to make sure that they can be trusted with certain secrets or if they would be willing to take a binding oath. I trust your judgement, but you said that you’ve only met Mallory, not her mother yet. I would rather we err on the side of caution,” she told me, and honestly, I could completely understand that position. I had secrets that I would rather not have get out beyond the family.

“Yeah, I totally get that. Thanks, Pandora, I’ll let her know,” I replied. Then I took a deep breath and turned back to Mallory to say, “That was Pandora, she’s my mom’s fiancée and co-owner of the club. They’re willing to give your mother a job interview and audition tomorrow at Pandora’s Box, whenever she has time if she wants it. She’d be making a lot more than what she’s probably making now at both jobs and there are benefits too, like healthcare and stuff.”

Mallory practically crushed me in a hug as she exclaimed, “Thank you, Crystal! But… umm… why?”

“Because you’re my friend, and what your mom is doing… even if she’s not in one of those brothels and doing it independently, it’s dangerous. I know she can probably take care of herself with her fire and stuff, but even the strongest Paranormals can be taken by surprise. At the club we make sure that our entertainers are safe, and we get the best healthcare available to prevent diseases, care for injuries, and stuff. She shouldn’t have to endanger herself so you can both live a decent life.”

“Dangerous doesn’t begin to cover it,” Melody added grimly. “Snatchers or the Chimera Syndicate would love to get their hands on a rare Paranormal like an Eftreeti, especially with how hot you can get your flames. You have no idea how lucky your mom is that she hasn’t had people coming after her, maybe she’s been smart though and keeping a human guise on. The club tries to keep their employees safe from stuff like that, the wards on the building are insane.”

Twenty minutes after the conversation with Mallory, I found myself pulling the Charger in front of the pumps at a gas station with a connected convenience store. Mallory and Melody were both in the car with me since my girlfriend didn’t want to let me out of her sight. She had the nerve to call me a trouble magnet. Sure, it was true, but she didn’t have to actually say it like that.

Mallory’s mom wasn’t allowed to take calls while at work and Mallory was a bit worried about missing her and being unable to make sure she got the message before tomorrow, what with them both working tonight. So, we made a brief trip to the place where her mom worked during the days to talk to her directly. I figured that being the one to bring her would let me fill up on gas and allow me to meet Mallory’s mother and get a read on her before tomorrow.

The others were already starting on their projects, and my daughter would be sticking with and learning from Nova while I was gone. Bella had offered to use her automotive knowledge and Metal magic to help Carmen get started with the transmission and engine takedown of her Optima until we got back as well. Apparently, Bella had cheated with magic and had already retrieved the majority of the parts she would need for her Ford Focus.

As I filled up the tank on the Charger, I considered how safe it was for an Efreeti to be working at such a place, in fairly close proximity to gas pumps and all. I guessed that it probably wasn’t a big deal since Mallory had said she had good control over her flames, and she probably worked in her human guise anyway since this wasn’t a Paranormal business and she would have to hide her true self from the normies. I finished filling up the tank, using my debit card to pay, and then locked up the car so we could follow Mallory into the convenience store to find her mom.

We didn’t have to look far since her mother was working the counter, but with Melody and Mallory’s help, I got a basket full of snacks and sodas to share with the girls back at the wrecking yard since she had a couple of customers in line when we walked in. I also got myself a cola flavored slushie since the machines were running and I wanted a nice, icy sweet treat. By the time we finished grabbing snacks and stuff, the lineup was gone, and we were the only customers left in the tiny store.

We walked up to the counter, and I was presented with a woman who looked more like Mallory’s older sister than her mother, even in her human guise. Not that I was one throw stones about that kind of thing between my own mother and my adoptive daughter. “Hi, welcome to…” she started to say before looking up and catching sight of her daughter. “Mallory, what are you doing here?” she asked after a quick look around.

“Hey, Mom,” Mallory said quietly. “These are a couple of my new friends, Crystal and Melody. I… uhh… needed to talk to you about something really quick. It’s important.”

The elder Efreeti, noting that we were the only customers, began to ring up our purchases absently as she looked over at me and my girlfriend and gave us a genuine smile. “She’s been talking about her new friends all week, telling me how you’ve all been looking out for her. Thank you for that.”

“Mallory is worth it, we’re happy to have her as a friend,” I replied, matching her smile for one of my own. "Actually, it’s me that needs to talk to you, Ma’am,” I told her honestly before pausing a moment to think about how to bring this up without offending her or stomping all over her pride. “You see, Mallory has been telling us how hard you’ve been working to support her, and I was thinking that it doesn’t need to be that hard, for either of you.”

Mallory saw that I was starting to flounder a bit as I tried to think of a polite way to bring up the job idea and said in a quiet tone, “Today, Crystal told me that she’s starting a new job as an… entertainer at that big Paranormal club, Pandora’s Box. She thought I might be a prude about that kinda thing, and I might have brought up your night job.”

Her hand stopped scanning items, and her facial expression was a mix of concern and confusion. I jumped back in, trying to spare her some stress and get to the point. “You see, Ma’am, my mom and her fiancée are co-owners of the club, and they were telling me yesterday that we could still use more entertainers at the club. So, I kinda talked to them about your situation. If you want it, you have an interview and audition at the club tomorrow, whenever you have the time. You could make a lot more than you’re making now and there are benefits and stuff too. I know I should probably keep my nose out of…”

My words were cut off as Mallory’s mother reached across the countertop to crush both me and her daughter in a hug. Okay, the whole family was huggers, good to know. When she let us go, she seemed at a loss for words for a moment. Her eyes were glistening, and she had to choke out the words, “Thank you… I’m… so glad that Mallory has found such… good people to be her friends. Delilah…” She didn’t finish that sentence but from the distasteful look on her face, it wasn’t hard to imagine what she thought of Delilah.

“If a friend is hurting or in a bad situation and I can do something about it, then I would have to be a pretty shitty friend not to do that. That’s common sense, and the only thanks I need is having Mallory as a friend in the first place. You don’t need to thank me, Ma’am. So… about the interview?” As grateful as she seemed to be, I was still a little worried that she might turn it down.

She shook her head with a sad smile and my breath caught in my throat until she said, “If only that kind of common sense was more common. I’ll be there at eleven o’clock in the morning. Thank you for caring enough about my daughter to make this happen. What should I wear?”

That question had me frozen for a moment since I had absolutely no clue. It wasn’t like I had an interview before starting. “Umm… something sexy? I’m… uhh… guessing that you know what the entertainers at the club do, right?”

“I’ve heard enough about the place to have a pretty good idea. I don’t have any experience with the kind of… dancing you all do, or I probably would have applied there by now to provide the other services. I’m willing to work hard and learn though.” At that moment a pair of people entered the store though, so she resumed scanning our items and ringing up our total.

A moment later, I paid for our treats and said, “It was nice meeting you, Ma’am, I guess we’ll see you tomorrow. My mom and Pandora can go over all the details with you when they do the interview.”

With that, Mallory quickly hugged her mother and said goodbye while the other customers were looking away and then we headed out to the Charger, Melody carrying the pair of bags as I sipped at my slushie. It was almost as good as ice cream. Then the three of us climbed back into my car and went back to the wrecking yard to join the others.

It had started to lightly snow, and the other girls were all either hard at work on getting parts for their project cars, or helping other girls do the same when we returned to the wrecking yard. Since we only had about another hour before I needed to head back to the club for opening, Melody and I quickly went to join Carmen and Bella while Mallory joined Clarice for an introduction to working under the hood and the various car parts to be found there. “How are things coming along?” I asked as I approached the car with the donor parts for Carmen’s project with Melody and took a long slurp of my slushie.

“Pretty good, actually, my Metal magic is helping to speed things along,” Bella replied as she and Carmen both looked up from their work. “We’ve got the engine and transmission mostly broken down, though the parts are all going to need a good cleaning and a quality inspection before she can put it all back together again. It all looks like it’s in good shape though. If we keep going at this pace, we could be done in half an hour or so.”

“How about you, Carmen? Are you getting the hang of things?” I asked as I took another long slurp of frozen goodness.

“Bella has been giving me a refresher on some of the things you showed me last time we were here. I remembered some of that stuff and what we’ve been going over in class, and I guess it’s not too different than anatomy lessons with my mom. Just like different Paranormals, there are some minor differences between different vehicle models. I think I’m starting to figure out the basics though,” Carmen said thoughtfully before stopping to stare at me. “Crystal, is that a slushie? It’s like fifteen below zero, what are you thinking?”

I took another long and noisy slurp and then grinned at her. “I’m thinking that it’s nice and cold and sweet. It’s not like the cold bothers me anyway.”

“Yeah, sure, Elsa,” Carmen said with a teasing smirk. “Not all of us are that lucky. I’m cold, even with these thermal gloves and coveralls, and just watching you drink that is making me colder.”

It was really too bad that she couldn’t let her Salamander, Blaze, out to provide some heat for her, but we needed to keep the Salamanders secret. It wasn’t like I didn’t trust our new friends with that secret, but I wanted to wait until Cinder, Blaze, and the other Salamanders were a little older before even thinking about sharing that secret with our friends. They needed to be able to stay outside of our bodies for more than a few minutes and produce a proper flame before I felt safe revealing their existence, even with people I trusted.

We did not want other people to see them either, normies or Paranormal, and Alex did occasionally get people other than us searching his wrecking yard for car parts and shit. Another reason not to reveal their presence was we would have to explain how dangerous the bonding process was, and how fatal it was for people not aligned to the Fire, Divine, or Death elements. That in turn would require explaining how I, a Snow Nymph, had managed to survive the process.

To tell our friends even one of our secrets would require us to tell them everything. While I felt bad about keeping things from my friends, they all knew that we had secrets we couldn’t talk about, and they all accepted that fact and didn’t press us for details. Most Paranormals are well aware that when secrets are kept by a Paranormal, there’s often a very good reason for it. We might have to bring Mallory and her mom into the loop if they came to live above the club, but Mom and Pandora wanted to take precautions to be sure they could be trusted first.

I quickly finished my slushie and then got to work helping Bella and Carmen while Melody kept an eye on the time for us. Having three people rather than two under the hood didn’t help us to get the work done any faster, but having both Metal and Ice magic available for the half-frozen parts was a big plus on our side. We managed to finish in just over half an hour and took the broken-down parts to Alex so he could assess them and take their value from Carmen’s parts budget.

The others seemed to be mostly finished, at least what they were trying to get done today, and we all stayed in Alex’s heated workshop for half an hour. It gave those of us who were cold a bit of a chance to warm up, and we all chatted about what we had gotten done while we shared the snacks I had bought at the convenience store. I knew for a fact that Selina and Nova were both shivering from working outside for over an hour and most of the others seemed to appreciate the chance to warm up as well.

During that time, Nova helped Selina to set up a Discord account on her phone so she could be added to our group chat and the pair could talk whenever they wanted to. It was a positive step for Selina, one that I was glad to see as the others all sent her welcome messages and emojis in the group server. Melody, Camen, and I managed to convince Mallory to come along with her mom the next day since she had the day off as well.

I figured that there was a good chance that her mom would be hired and that it might be a good idea to introduce her to Lou, Carmen, and some of the others who lived above the club, and she could come upstairs while her mother had her interview and audition. If things went well, they could both stay for lunch and get to know the rest of the Pandora’s Box family better. The time passed quickly, and it seemed all too soon before I needed to head back to the club, and Mallory and Clarice had to head to the café for their shifts.

It turned out to be a good time to leave because the snow had started coming down harder while we were in Alex’s workshop, and it was only falling heavier and thicker as I drove us home. By the time I got the car into the secure garage beneath the club, visibility was getting pretty bad. I may love snow and ice, but that didn’t mean I liked driving in it in close to zero visibility more than any other person. I was relieved once we were parked safely inside the garage.

It didn’t take me long to get Selina settled upstairs and she was playing dolls with Sorcha with Carmen watching over them both when I headed downstairs with Jess and Melody. I wasn’t the only one working from open to close tonight as my sister would be tending one of the bars all night and my girlfriend would be acting as a bouncer alongside Aunt Merry. My aunt and Melody would be taking turns staying by the main entrance in case of trouble and walking around the club to keep an eye on the entertainers and patrons.

As for me, I didn’t have my first big show until six thirty, right in the middle of the dinner rush. That didn’t mean that I wouldn’t be on the main stage until then though. Like the other dancers who weren’t on the big stage or entertaining a patron upstairs, I would be taking turns dancing on one of the mini stages alongside the bars or pole dancing on one of the poles to either side of the main stage. Each set would last about twenty minutes and then I would have a ten-minute breather to relax or talk with patrons of the club before going to where I was scheduled next, unless I ended up giving extra services.

Thankfully, the schedule in the back would tell me which stages I was assigned to at any given time, and the bartenders had a digital copy behind their bars as well so I wouldn’t have to go backstage between each set to find out. I also only had to worry about clothes, or rather costumes, when I was going up on the main stage to do one of my big acts. When dancing on the poles or the mini stages, the dancers were usually just naked the whole time.

It would be nice to be able to go without clothes for most of the time that I was working. Not having that annoyance and the desire to take my clothes off constantly nagging at my willpower and distracting me sounded wonderfully liberating. The only thing that I really needed to worry about was keeping a towel nearby so I could pat myself dry of any perspiration after each set.

That wasn’t a huge concern though since each full-time entertainer had a couple of personalized towels and an ankle-length satin dressing robe with a soft and cozy inner flannel layer in the back on our costume racks. Mine were all a nice powder blue with white snowflake patterns and had my name on them in silver, cursive embroidery. Even those of us who preferred to walk around naked usually wore the robes when on meal breaks. They prevented awkward wet spots on the seats and having our boobs get in the way while eating, or so my mentors told me.

I was probably as prepared as I was going to get for my first night as I headed to one of the mini stages for my first set, to the right of where my sister would be serving drinks, ten minutes before the club was due to open. Oh, that was going to catch people’s attention. Except for the bunny ears and tail, Jess was identical to me. Well, I guess that I was naked while she was wearing a bartender’s uniform too, but that didn’t mean people weren’t going to imagine her naked. Especially with me baring it all while dancing nearby.

Jess was checking the stock for her bar and making sure that everything was where it was supposed to be when I approached and put my towel in the little alcove built into that back of the mini stage where customers wouldn’t see it. “So, tonight’s the big night, Sis. Are you nervous yet?” she asked.

I could see the concern in her eyes and tried to allay it with a cheerful smile. “I could get used to not having to wear clothes all the time. I’m a little nervous about my shows on the big stage still, but honestly, I’m not all that concerned about my sets on the mini stages or the poles. I’ve got my pole routines down, and on these mini stages I’m just going to be moving to the music and showing off my goods. That doesn’t bother you, does it?”

Thankfully, my sister understood me well enough to determine what I was trying to ask with that vague question. “It’s hardly going to be the first time I’ve seen you naked since you Manifested or had people staring at me because we look so much alike. The regular patrons know that the bartenders and waitresses are off-limits. If anyone does or says anything I’m uncomfortable with, they’ll get the standard warning. If they do it a second time, I’ll get Aunt Merry or your girlfriend over here to kick their ass for me.”

“Okay, good. We probably won’t get many customers until the early dinner rush hits around five thirty anyway, I guess. It might be quiet tonight too, with the way that snow is falling outside,” I said as I glanced toward the entrance. The forecast had predicted light flurries, but what was coming down when I was driving back to the club had me concerned.

Sometimes, I hate being right. By six o’clock we hadn’t seen a single patron enter the club yet. The snow outside was getting steadily worse too and the updated forecast on the weather network was saying that we were probably going to see record amounts of snow overnight. We’d also had most of our part-time waitresses, kitchen helpers, dancers, and bartenders call in to say they wouldn’t be able to make it through the snow for their shifts.

Those of us who were at the club and supposed to be working were now all eating dinner since we couldn’t do much else and the mood was getting pretty glum. Annika wasn’t even outside; she was watching the entrance through the video screen by the door that showed the view of the cameras over the front doors. Pandora said that was too damn cold and there was too much snow whipping around to have her stationed outside like usual.

I was wearing my robe and eating solemnly along with everyone else when Stella joked, “You know, Crystal. If you really didn’t want to start tonight, there were probably easier ways to get out of it than burying the city in snow.”

“Don’t look at me, this isn’t my doing,” I grumbled back. “Just my luck, I’m ready to perform for the first time and we get the biggest snowstorm in over a decade.”

“Regardless, this unexpected snowstorm is keeping people indoors and off the streets. It’s probably for the best if we just close up for tonight, I don’t think we’re going to get anyone coming through that,” Pandora pointed out grimly as she glared at the screen of her cell phone. “The weather network is expecting this to keep up until early morning. We could get over sixty centimeters overnight.”

Mom nodded sadly. I think that she was looking forward to seeing me do my first show in front of an audience. As nervous as I was, I was kind of looking forward to it too, and now I found myself disappointed as Mom said, “We’ll give it another ten minutes. If no patrons show up by then, we’ll close up the club and have a quiet night in.”

We all watched the front entrance where Annika was watching the surveillance screen and counted down the minutes in silence. Unfortunately, nobody came to relieve our boredom and give us a reason to stay open during that time. Mom and Pandora called it, and we started closing up the club.

The few part-timers who had been able to make it through the snow were all long-time employees of the club and were offered rooms to stay the night in, but none of them took Mom and Pandora up on the offer. All of them lived nearby, two in the same apartment complex, and the third was a half-Demon like Melody. She offered to take the other two home by teleportation since she lived just down the street and passed the building often enough to be familiar with it. That seemed to keep Mom and Pandora from worrying about whether they would get home safely through the snow.

As for the rest of us, after making sure that the closed sign was in place and the club entrance was securely locked, we all planned on a quiet night in. Dr. Diaz, Aislinn, Jack, and Jill all came downstairs with the kids and brought along some board games and a couple of decks of cards. Brock and Cindy made some hot cocoa and snacks before coming to join us as well, and then we all settled in to spend the remainder of the evening playing games, snacking, and watching the local news and weather reports.

I know that some of us were checking our phones regularly too. Selina, Carmen, Jess, Melody, and I were all regularly checking and sending messages on the Discord channel for our group of friends. It looked like the café belonging to Clarice’s parents was in a similar situation and had to close up shop due to the weather as well. Mallory was probably going to be stuck there for the night and Clarice’s mother was setting her up in their guest bedroom. Thankfully, everyone else was safe and sound at their respective homes.

Power to large portions of the city went out around eight o’clock and I was suddenly very glad that we weren’t on the city power grid. Fortunately, we had Jenny providing power for the building and Ashe keeping things toasty warm despite the chill outside. Some of our friends weren’t so lucky on that front.

Clarice’s place, and the café beneath it, was hit by one of the power outages and so were Alison’s and Nova’s places. They had no idea when the power would be restored, but it probably wouldn’t be until sometime tomorrow morning. Since their places all had electric heating too, it sounded like they were probably screwed for the night.

Mom caught us all staring glumly at our phones while we were supposed to be playing monopoly and sipping at hot cocoa and slipped over to ask, “What’s wrong, girls?”

“Some of our friends were hit by the power outages, Nana Tiffani,” Selina explained. “Alison, Nova, and Clarice’s places were all hit, and it looks like they’re without power and heat until it gets fixed.”

“Yeah, and Mallory is snowed in with Clarice’s family, so she’s affected too,” I added. “She said that her mom is trying and wait it out at the convenience store, but if this storm is as bad as they’re saying, she might have trouble getting here for her interview at eleven.”

Mom went to talk to Pandora and the pair had a brief and quiet conversation before they both got on their phones. I knew that they both knew Alison’s mom and Clarice’s parents, going by the conversations at the birthday party last week, so maybe they were phoning to check up on them. Nova’s family was new to the area, having just moved to Edmonton from Crete last summer, and neither her family nor Mallory’s mother had many connections in the local Paranormal community.

A few minutes later, Mom and Pandora joined us, and Pandora asked, “Melody, do you think you’d be able to get to the homes of your friends without power and bring them and their families here? Are you familiar enough with the convenience store Mallory’s mother is at to get her too?”

Melody considered the idea for a moment, nibbling her lower lip sexily as she thought. “It’s probably going to wear me out, especially if the families are bigger than three or four people. I know the girls well enough to teleport to them though, and I can probably teleport to Mallory’s mother too, if we can make sure she’s alone and out of sight of any normies.”

“I know that Heather isn’t married, it’s just her and her two girls. Raul and Sarah just have Clarice,” Mom informed her. “We have seven spare dorm rooms upstairs right now, some might need to share, but we can probably manage. Some of the adults could even use the rooms on the second floor if they don’t mind what they’re usually used for.”

I knew that I, personally, wouldn’t have issues sleeping in a room that was usually reserved for sex, but I was a Nymph. Still, they were rooms with warm beds that our guests could use, if it came to that and it wasn’t like any of them had been used for their usual purpose tonight. They were also cleaned daily, so I didn’t see a problem with it.

A few minutes later, we informed Nova what was going on so she could pass it on to her family. Her parents were thankful for the offer and for the chance to meet other Paranormals in the community. Soon, Melody was off making her first trip, first returning with Nova and her father, a large man with classical Greek features who I thought might be a Water Mage, going by the hint of magic I could feel from him. After a moment to rest, she was gone once more.

Melody returned with a Nereid woman who bore a striking resemblance to Nova and who was carrying a swaddled infant in a pink blanket. I let out a long sigh of relief, glad that we had sent Melody to get them. The baby was fussing a bit, probably from being teleported, but she would at least be safe and warm tonight.

It took almost half an hour to get everyone to the club since Melody needed to take brief rest breaks between trips to not wear herself out. After Nova’s family, she got Alison’s, first retrieving Alison and her younger sister, Phoebe, a pretty blonde girl close to Nova and Selina’s age who hadn’t Manifested yet. Then Melody went back for their mother, Heather. Practically every girl at the club knew Heather, of course, since we all went to her salon, Shear Bliss, to get our hair and nails done.

Next came Clarice and Mallory, followed by Clarice’s parents who profusely thanked Melody for the transportation and Pandora and Mom for arranging things and allowing the family to stay the night. They seemed to know Pandora and my mom pretty well and quickly joined the pair at one of the tables hosting some of the dancers for a steaming mug of hot cocoa. Brock and Cindy had already made up a new batch for our guests, figuring that they might be cold.

The last trip Melody made was for Mallory’s mother, after Mallory had called her and warned her about what was going to happen and that she should be away from any normies. As soon as everyone was present, Melody slumped into the booth beside me and I snuggled up against her to whisper, “Thanks, my love.”

“Anytime, Babe. It was the right thing to do anyway, I wasn’t going to leave our friends and their families to freeze overnight.”

I smiled and kissed her, and my smile grew once I saw that Mom had already taken Mallory’s mother in hand and started introducing her to everyone else present. The poor Efreeti woman seemed a little shell-shocked, both at the invitation to stay the night and the whirlwind that was my mother when she took charge. I can’t say that I blamed her for being a little overwhelmed.

Mallory, Allison, and Clarice had joined Carmen, Lou, Jess, Melody, and me at our booth and were sipping hot chocolate as we decided on teams of two to start another Monopoly game. Nova and Clarice’s younger sister had claimed a booth with Selina and the three of them were getting to know one another as they started a game of Life with little Sorcha and her mother, Aislinn. The various parents were all settled in now as well, as they conversed with the adult members of the Pandora’s Box family and either started or rekindled friendships.

It was storming outside, and it sucked that a good portion of the city was without power and being snowed in, but this was nice. I was still a little peeved that I didn’t get to perform tonight, but spending the night with friends and family wasn’t a bad thing. We were all safe and warm, and that was the important thing as we all settled in for a long night.

Despite enjoying spending the evening having fun with some of my friends, my sister, and my girlfriend, something was nagging at me the entire night. The weight of an unkept oath that seemed to get heavier and heavier with each massing minute. I tried to mentally assure myself that it wasn’t my fault that I couldn’t keep my promise to the Dicken sisters to perform tonight, but it wasn’t helping, and I found my eyes often drifting toward the stage.

At one point, halfway through our game of Monopoly, I excused myself for a few minutes to go speak with the Dicken sisters, who were sitting and playing poker with Rhissa, Nixie, and Sukoha. “Hey, Adora, is there any way you can release me from my promise? It’s kind of starting to feel… heavy.”

“What promise?” Sukoha asked, as everyone at the table looked toward me.

“Uh… shit,” Adora mumbled, looking suddenly very sheepish. “I… uhhh… might have tricked Crystal into promising that she would stop making excuses and perform tonight. Heh, is there any way for her to get out of it, Rhissa?”

Rhissa frowned at the Succubus and then sighed as she rubbed her temples. “What the hell were you thinking? There is a reason that Fey don’t make promises lightly, Adora. Each moment that she doesn’t go through with it, she’s going to feel worse and more compelled to do it until she eventually has no choice in the matter, especially with a time sensitive vow like that.”

The Succubus winced, looking even more sheepish than a moment ago, and genuinely apologetic as she said, “I’m sorry, Crystal. I thought it would help you stop second guessing yourself and there was no way I could have known that we’d have to close tonight.”

“I need to know what you made her promise, the exact wording, if possible,” Rhissa insisted, still not looking very happy with our friend and fellow entertainer.

With the promise feeling so heavy, I could feel the weight of the words like they were etched into my soul. “She had me say, ‘I’ll perform tomorrow night,’” I told her.

Rhissa let out a long and relieved sigh. “Okay, that’s not too terrible. We can work with that. At least you didn’t specify that she needed to do it in front of customers or something, and tonight could mean any time until the club usually closes. Okay, Crystal, we’re going to have you make an addendum to the oath.”

“Okay,” I replied. That didn’t sound too bad, and Rhissa probably knew what she was doing with this kind of stuff. “What do I need to say?”

“You’ll need to address her directly since she’s the one you made the oath to, the formality will give the addendum more weight,” Rhissa instructed with a pensive expression. “It will make the promise more specific, but in this case that will work to your favor. Just be as formal as possible and tell her that you will complete your promise for tonight after any minors have gone upstairs for the night.”

I nodded seriously, took a deep breath, and then turned to the Succubus in question. “Adora Dicken, due to changing circumstances, I shall comply with the oath you have bound me to and perform once any and all minors in the club have gone upstairs to sleep.”

I could immediately feel the weight of the oath lessen somewhat. It was still there, but not as mentally stifling and distracting as it was before. I quickly gave Rhissa a hug and a thank you and returned to finish the game I had been playing with the others.

It was just after eleven o’clock when Mom and Pandora started to organize rooms for all our guests and arranged for some of us who lived above the club to show them to those rooms so they could get comfortable and settle in for the night. I would, of course, need to stay downstairs to keep my promise after the others went to bed, so I bid the others good night and said that I would see them in the morning. I had a promise to keep.

As things were being organized, Selina approached the table where we were packing away the Monopoly game, looking a little self-conscious. She looked sleepy too, but she usually went to bed around nine or so and it was almost two and a half hours past that. “Momma…” she began uncertainly before asking, “Do you think that Nova, Phoebe, and I could have a sleepover in my room?”

Honestly, I didn’t see any harm in it since the girls were staying the night anyway and it would save on rooms being taken up by guests. I was also very happy that she and Nova were becoming so close, and that she seemed to be making friends with Alison’s sister as well. Still, I felt it wise to remind her, “You would have to wear a nightgown and panties.”

She was as uncomfortable wearing clothes as I was, and usually didn’t do so in the privacy of her room. Usually, the only time she wore clothes while sleeping was when she had a nightmare and came into my room to cuddle for reassurance. She still had nightmares from time to time, but thankfully, they seemed to be getting less severe and occurring less often.

“I know, Momma. I can manage okay wearing them for one night,” she assured me.

“Okay then, tell your Nana Tiffani and Pandora, get some extra pillows and blankets for them, and head off to bed then, and don’t stay up too late,” I instructed as I gave her a hug and a good night kiss on the forehead.

“Thanks, Momma,” she replied as she hugged me back. Then she ran off to tell Nova and Phoebe the good news. Thankfully, they both had overnight bags. We had been able to give everyone enough notice that Melody was coming to get them for most of our guests to pack bags for their stay. The only exceptions were Mallory and her mother, Calliope, neither of whom had been at home when Melody brought them to the club.

Calliope seemed fine with taking one of the second room floors usually reserved for entertaining club patrons, and our other guests would be staying in the dorm rooms on the third floor. Everything was organized and our schoolmates were starting to head upstairs to get ready for bed, with Carmen, Jess, and Lou offering to show them to the spare dorm rooms. It seemed like everyone was ready to head to bed, even most of us working in the club were taking advantage of the club being closed for a little extra sleep. All except Mom and Pandora, who were now talking quietly with Calliope.

Melody was going to stay and watch me perform, along with Rhissa, Sukoha, and the Dicken sisters, so I could say I actually performed for an audience. Rhissa hadn’t been sure if doing so without at least somebody watching me would count toward the vague oath. Derek had also agreed to stay downstairs a little longer to play music from the DJ booth, I had already told him my idea and asked him to pick songs that would work with it. The Dicken sisters had told me that he was good at that.

Personally, I was looking forward to a nice romp in bed with Melody once I had fulfilled my commitment to perform. So, while almost everyone else headed upstairs, I hurried to the backstage dressing area to get changed into one of my stage costumes. Not the snow princess or the naughty schoolgirl ones though since I wanted to save those for my first night performing in front of a crowd.

Instead, I went with this sexy cowgirl costume. It boasted very skimpy denim shorts and a flannel shirt that tied in the front to leave my midriff bare and showed off a lot of cleavage, worn over a flannel-looking, and very skimpy, panty and bra set. It also came with a black cowboy hat, red and black cowboy boots, and a tear-off replica gun belt.

The deal was that I was supposed to perform, not that I perform one of the routines we had been working on, so vagueness was probably working in my favor there. I figured that this might be a good time to try improvising a routine. There were no customers and no pressure after all.

Derek was even nice enough to give me a proper introduction, once I had signaled to him that I was ready. His deep, sexy voce booming out over the club sound system. “Ladies of Pandora’s Box, I’m thrilled to present, our very own hot little pistol, Crystal Cummings!”

I strutted sexily out onto the main stage to the first notes of Shoot to Thrill by ACDC. Good song and very appropriate, Derek was good at that. As I strutted and moved to the music, I saw the confused looks on my mentors’ faces turn into grins as they watched with Rhissa, Sukoha, and Melody. I could also see Mom and Pan looking like they were continuing their private talk with Mallory’s mother, Calliope, at one of the tables near the stage, though their attention was now on me.

Calling what we do while on-stage dancing is kind of a stretch. Oh sure, there are some dance moves involved, and we need to be graceful and have good timing and rhythm to move to the music, which is why we have some choreographed routines. Mostly though, it’s moving sexily to the music and flirting with the crowd as we time the right moments in a song to remove a piece of clothing or, once we’re completely nude, pose in such a way to tantalize the audience with our bodies… usually the naughty bits.

I couldn’t speak for other strip clubs, and had no intention to work for any others, but that was how the Dicken sisters had been teaching me to perform at Pandora’s Box. So I strutted to the music and occasionally threw in some sexy poses, performed some of the more alluring dance moves that my mentors had taught me, and flirted a lot too, giving a finger gun at just the right moment, taking off my hat for a brief instant to toss my hair around, or blowing a kiss to one of the girls watching me (usually Melody). I also used my agility and flexibility to tease before or while taking off a piece of clothing.

With the latter I dragged it out, teasing as I first hinted at taking off my shirt, untying the front, and then pausing as if hesitating, before leaving it untied but still on, showing my bra underneath and just a little more flesh. Then, just to be more of a tease, the first items of clothing I took off were my boots, one at a time, with one leg raised in front of me, so close to my body that it touched my chest, to slightly obscure my upper body while showing just how tight my shorts were. The shorts only followed after several more minutes of strutting, flirting, and teasing in time to the music.

The shirt followed next, after more teasing pseudo hesitation about taking it off, and by then the first song was nearing its end and I was left only with my hat, bra, panties, and the gun belt. The next song was You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi, another old song that was very well suited to this bit. It also gave me every excuse to be even more of a salacious tease to the audience, so I tossed my hat toward Rhissa, raised my hand from the gun belt, and shot a finger gun at her. She pretended to swoon as she caught it, and I had trouble keeping a straight face and looking properly sexy as I went on with my act.

I had just bent over to one part of the song, with my legs spread a little and showing off my ass to those watching and blowing a kiss at them between my legs, when I stood upright again. As I did so, my hands moved sensually up my legs and then my sides to reach up and back to unclasp my bra as I pursed my lips and turned to look over and give them a sensual, almost needy look over my shoulder. When I turned around, I wasn’t wearing the bra anymore, but my long hair was artfully obscuring my bare breasts.

A moment later I flipped my hair over my shoulders, exposing my breasts and diamond-hard nipples as I strutted in time to the music toward the front of the stage and, with a slight thrust of my hips, tore off the gun belt, earning some whistles and shouts from Rhissa, Sukoha, Melody, and the three Succubae sisters. The song was starting to wind down when I finally bent forward, giving a very nice view of my breasts, and slowly peeled off my panties before stepping out of them, one agonizing foot at a time. They dangled from the finger on my outstretched arm and, as I allowed myself to drop to my knees, I allowed them to drop as well.

The panties fell onto the stage with a wet plop as I spread my legs to show the dripping slit between them and arched my back, breasts proudly thrust outward and nipples pointing to the ceiling as the song wound down. That wasn’t too bad for improvising the whole thing I thought as the song ended and I heard the applause. Usually, main stage acts were around twenty minutes long so I would have continued flirting, moving to the music and showing off my goods for another song or two, but the weight of the oath had disappeared, so I was willing to let it end there as I stood up and gave Derek a thumbs up in the booth to let him know I was done.

As I got back to my feet, I noticed that Melody was giving me a look of pure lust as Rhissa dramatically fanned herself, and Sukoha and the twins all grinned at me. Mom and Pandora were smiling as they continued to talk to Calliope and gestured toward the stage. I was grinning as I sashayed over to the table where my girlfriend and the others were waiting. “That was fucking hot,” Melody said, her voice raspy with desire.

“The strutting was a good idea with that costume, you looked like a cocky, sexy gunslinger up there,” Rhissa added with a grin. She was currently wearing my hat that I had thrown at her.

Stella nodded as she agreed, “It was a little rough, but not bad for being improvised. With a little work, and a bit more proper choreography, we could turn that into another regular routine for you.”

“You might even be able to work that hat throw and finger gun thing into wrangling some extra money from patrons,” Adora added pensively. “Krysti has an act that does something similar, but with this whole geisha girl thing. She tosses a fan though, usually to someone that catches her eye. Retrieving it after the act gives her an excuse to talk to them, and that often ends up in them wanting to negotiate some extra services.”

Stella grinned at that, “Yeah, that’s right, she does. I’ve already got some ideas on how we could turn that into a whole new stage act for you, Crystal. If you want, I’ll start jotting down notes and working on a proper choreography for it before I go to bed, while it’s fresh in my mind. Those were good song picks too, and we could probably find a couple more that would work fairly well for a full set.”

“Uh… sure. Honestly, I was just improvising, trying to have fun with it, and not embarrass myself too badly, but if you think you can make it work for an actual act, I’m all for it,” I replied, earning a hug from all three of my mentors.

“That was certainly better than my first improvised act,” Sukoha said with a giggle. “I only had one choreographed act then and I thought it would be easy to make something sexy that would work on the spur of the moment. When I got on stage and saw the crowd, I started overthinking things.”

I winced in sympathy, glad that I didn’t have an audience of club patrons for my first improvised act. We all talked for a few more minutes about how we could develop what I did on stage into an actual stage act, though I did turn to the booth where Mom and Pandora were speaking with Calliope in surprise when I felt the familiar presence of Divine magic, it felt like some sort of healing spell. Mom was touching Calliope’s shoulder for some reason.

After several minutes, and another sense of Divine magic being used while I was back to discussing a possible new act with the others, Mom, Pandora, and Calliope came over to join us. “Nicely done, Crystal. If I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t have realized that you were making things up as you got a feel for the music.”

“Yep, it wasn’t bad,” Adora said, beaming with pride. “We were just talking about turning into another proper act for her.”

Mom nodded and smiled. “Good idea, it would be a waste not to develop that into something more refined. We were just interviewing Calliope here, and while she has plenty of experience pleasing men, and the occasional woman, in the bedroom, she’s a little uncertain about her ability to do what you girls do on stage.”

Calliope laughed nervously as she concurred. “Yeah, I’m not sure that I could do what I saw Crystal doing just now, at least, not right out of the gate. I would have no idea where to even start with that pole either.”

“Anita, Adora, and Stella,” Pandora addressed the three Dicken sisters as she turned to look at them. “Since you’ve done such a good job showing Crystal the ropes, would you mind teaching Calliope as well? It wouldn’t take much time from your work nights since you could train her during the day, while the club is closed.”

Anita’s face morphed into a maniacal grin, and her sisters weren’t far behind in matching it as she said, “Another student? Sure, it’s been fun teaching Crystal. We’ll want to see what we have to work with though. Crystal, clean your stuff off the stage so we can get her started on some basics and see what she can do!”

I quickly gathered my things from the stage and then went to retrieve my hat from Rhissa as the three Succubae led Calliope to the stage. I was about to take the clothes backstage when Mom approached and offered, “Here, let me show you a Divine spell to clean your clothes, it’ll save you doing laundry.”

“Is that going to be okay?” I asked as I glanced warily toward the stage. “How’d the interview go?”

“I think that she and her daughter will fit in well here, and the triplets can teach her what she needs to know on stage. It’s honestly better that she has no stage experience, it’s less learned mistakes to correct. She’s already taken a binding oath and will keep our secrets, just as we have promised to keep hers from anyone not a part of the family. She’ll convince Mallory to take an oath as well,” Mom stated with a glance toward where Calliope was watching Stella show her some basic dance moves.

“Her secrets?” I asked, though I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. A lot of Paranormals have secrets after all.

Mom nodded, and stated, “You need to promise that you won’t discuss this with anyone outside of the family.”

“Of course,” I replied immediately. If she and Mallory were going to be part of the family now too, and it seemed they were, then I wouldn’t do anything to endanger them. “I promise, not a word about anything you tell me to anyone outside of the family.”

As I felt the slight weight of the oath settle upon me, Mom said, “Calliope is an escaped slave. She was grabbed by Snatchers not long after she Manifested and sold to the Chimera Syndicate. They had her wearing some sort of collar with a control spell and a tracking spell on it. She couldn’t use her abilities for anything they didn’t tell her to, and they made her do some truly horrendous things while she was under their control.”

“Shit, how did she get away?” I asked, glancing in sympathy toward the stage where Calliope was still watching Stella, but had changed into her true demonic-looking form. She was pretty sexy like that, and Mallory was right about her ability to control her flames. They were barely embers, and I couldn’t see her even giving off sparks.

The expression on Mom’s face was a cross between distaste and fury as she answered my question. “They were breeding her, like an animal, and not long after she discovered she was pregnant with Mallory, she managed to use a poorly worded order 'to incinerate someone who had crossed the Chimera Syndicate' to make her flames hot enough to destroy the collar. Then she turned her former masters to ash, changed her name, and went on the run, eventually ending up here when Mallory was born. She still had a brand on her shoulder, a mark of ownership, but I just removed that.”

Well, that explained the healing magic I had felt earlier. “Well, fuck. Will she and Mallory be staying here now? I’m kinda worried about their safety now.”

“Yes, she’s accepted our offer. She’ll quit her old job tomorrow and we’ll help her and Mallory move their things here this week. It might be a good idea for Mallory to start working here once she’s eighteen as well, to make sure she’s safe. I understand that Raul is starting to train her as a cook, and we could always use more help in the kitchen. I’ll talk to him about it tomorrow and see if he minds us poaching her later since she’ll be living here anyway. I could always send one or two of our part-timers who want more hours and might be interested his way in exchange,” she said thoughtfully.

It seemed that Mom and Pandora had things well in hand, and that Mallory and Calliope would be joining the family, so I let the subject drop and got Mom to show me that cleaning spell. It was actually pretty easy to learn now that I was getting more experience using and visualizing my magic, and I would probably end up using it a lot. Soon I was putting my now clean cowgirl costume on my rack backstage, along with the robe I had been wearing most of the night and changing back into the clothes I had worn earlier today to head back upstairs.

Once we had said goodnight to the others, Melody and I headed back upstairs and to my room. I was extremely horny after that performance on stage and Melody was very eager to accommodate me after watching said performance. It was a good two hours before we were both worn out and cuddling together, enjoying the afterglow, as we drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms.

When I awoke that Sunday morning, a peek outside of my room’s window showed that the storm seemed to be over. It was still snowing lightly, and there was so much on the ground outside that I wanted to run outside to enjoy it and be close to my primary element, but we had weathered the worst of it. Melody, who was dressing so she could go back to her room and shower and get some fresh clothes inquired, “How is it looking out there? My room doesn’t have a window.”

“It looks wonderful,” I replied with a grin. “There’s so much snow out there, and it’s still snowing a little, but it looks like the storm is over.”

“That’s good, that snow and wind last night was intense. I could barely see a couple of feet in front of me when I went to pick up Mallory’s mother,” she said with a smile as she came over to kiss me. “I’ll see you for breakfast, Babe.”

“Are you sure that you don’t want to come shower with me? We could save water and time,” I suggested after kissing her back.

Melody laughed but shook her head. “You know that if we shower together, we’ll get dirty more than we get clean and probably won’t be finished until after breakfast. As delicious as you are, I’m hungry and we have guests, so we should show up for breakfast.”

Sadly, she was right on all counts, and I was hungry too. “Okay, I’ll see you in a bit then.” I took the opportunity for one last kiss and then headed for the shower while Melody left for her own room across the hall to do the same.

While I took a few minutes longer than I probably should have to enjoy the pulse setting on my shower head, I was showered, dressed, and had my hair properly dried and brushed in time for breakfast. I knocked on Selina’s door and then opened it to make sure that the girls inside were awake. I saw Selina giggling and chattering happily with Nova and Phoebe as the latter two were repacking their overnight bags. They all looked tired, probably from not enough sleep, but they were happy, and it looked like Selina had enjoyed her first sleepover immensely.

“We’ll come down for breakfast in a minute, Momma,” the Astrae told me as she turned toward me. And since she looked so happy, I decided not to say anything about how sleepy she looked. Instead, I glanced at her hand, resting on her lap, and said, “Your nails look really nice, Selina. Almost as good as when we got them done at Shear Bliss.”

Selina beamed at the compliment. “Phoebe had her makeup kit and stuff with her, so she gave us makeovers.”

“You did a great job, Phoebe!” I called out to Heather’s youngest daughter, before turning my attention back to Selina. “I’ll see you all in a few minutes then, I just wanted to make sure you were all up.”

Leaving them to finish what they were doing; I made my way to the common room and the elevator. My sister and Mallory were there and waiting for the elevator, so I hurried to catch up before the elevator reached the floor and they left without me. “Good morning, Sis, and good morning to you too, Mallory. How did you sleep?”

My sister hugged me and gave me a good morning in return while Mallory beamed at me and replied, “I slept like a log. Did I get put in some kind of VIP room by mistake? Because that bed was so huge and soft, and the bathroom has a shower and a jacuzzi. I spent like an hour just soaking before going to bed last night.”

“Nope, that wasn’t a VIP room, all the rooms up here are like that,” Jess said with a laugh.

“Yeah, and you should probably get used to it because that room you stayed in will likely be yours from now on,” I told her with a grin. “Your mom got the job, and it comes with benefits, like room and board for both of you. There are still a couple of details that need to be worked out, but it looks like you’ll be joining the family here.”

At that point the elevator dinged, and the doors opened, but Mallory was just standing there looking stunned, like it was taking her a moment to process what I just told her. “What?! Really?!”

“Welcome to the family, Mallory,” Jess offered as she wrapped the Efreeti in a hug and then gently prodded her into the elevator.

“Yeah, I heard it last night before I came upstairs,” I told her as I stepped into the elevator behind them. Once the door was closed behind us and we started down, I stopped the elevator and added in a serious tone, “Just to let you know, you’re probably going to be asked to take a binding oath. Your mom already took one. There are a lot of secrets under this roof and we’re pretty serious about keeping them secret to protect one another. We’ll keep your secrets too, of course, Mom and I both already swore not to speak of any secrets you share with anyone who doesn’t live here.”

“The people living here are family,” Jess added as she placed a hand gently on Mallory’s shoulder. “We trust each other with our lives.”

Mallory considered our words for a moment before nodding. “Well, it’s not like you can lie, Crystal, and I don’t think you would anyway about something like this, even if you could. I don’t mind doing the whole oath thing, and I think all my secrets are Mom’s secrets too.”

“Cool,” I replied after breathing a sigh of relief. “I just thought it was fair to warn you, and I figured it would be best to do it while we had some privacy.” I pressed the button to get the elevator going again, and a moment later, we were downstairs on the club floor. I spotted Melody, already waiting at one of the big booths with Clarice, Alison, Rhissa, and the Dicken sisters. There was just enough space left for the three of us to join them, so I got cozy next to my girlfriend and my sister slid in beside me, followed by Mallory.

Breakfast that morning was an animated affair, with our overnight guests in attendance as well as those of us who lived in the club. Clarice’s dad, Raul, had gotten up early to help Brock and Cindy in the kitchen though and everyone else seemed well-rested and in good spirits. Good food, good friends, and family were pretty good reasons to be in good spirits.

As we ate, Pandora was able to give us all an update on the storm situation. Power was back to most of the areas that had outages the night before, but the streets were still being cleared. The PDA was trying to send snow-clearing teams to Paranormal businesses as quickly as possible, but the amount of snow they would have to clear from other businesses and the condition of the city streets meant that they probably wouldn’t get to the club to clear our parking lot and stuff until noon.

Wait. We were going to have a parking lot full of snow for the whole morning before they could come clear it? I turned to my sister and grinned. She grinned back, giving the barest of nods before we both squealed in unison, ““Snowball fight!”” Sure, the last time I had a snowball fight I ended up turning into a girl and a Nymph shortly after, but it had been fun, and I was already manifested so I wasn’t too worried about anything else life-altering happening.

A possible snowball fight wasn’t the only topic of conversation while we ate breakfast. Stella told me that she had written down the basics of my act last night and the things that she really liked about it and thought would work, and she was ready to start working on a proper choreography for the whole thing this afternoon. She would be keeping much of it the same, but it would be more refined while keeping the sass and sexy strutting that I had put into it last night.

This, of course, got everyone at the table who hadn’t seen my performance last night curious, but nobody pressed too hard after Adora said that I was just keeping a promise to her and taking an opportunity to try something new while the club was closed. Most of us were far too involved in enjoying our breakfast anyway. Mallory especially seemed a little overwhelmed by how good the food was, how much there was, and the variety.

I got the feeling that it wasn’t often that she ate this well, save for the cafeteria at school. She had made no secret that she and her mom were barely getting by and scraping up enough for rent each month. It was one of the reasons that she hung out with Delilah for so long. It was because the clothes and stuff Delilah bought her, and the rides to and from school, saved them money that they needed for other things.

We finished eating by ten o’clock, but unfortunately, Clarice wasn’t able to stay for the snowball fight we were planning on. She and her parents had to go back to the café to make sure that none of the food there had spoiled while the power was out and to open for business for the day. Alison’s mom, Heather, had to open the salon in the mall too, but she said both of her daughters could stay for a while as long as we could get them home later. Nova’s parents wanted to check on things at home, but they too said that their daughter could stay if we could get her home safely later.

Melody was able to take them all back to where she found them or, in Heather’s case, directly to her salon since she had been there with me a couple of times. She was the last of the parents to leave after Melody had a short break, and Alison promised to pick her up at the mall when the salon closed. That just left Mallory’s mother, Calliope, who had the day off after working yesterday and would be sticking around to get to know everyone better and maybe get more lessons from the Dicken sisters.

We had divided into two teams, and I had used Ice magic to build each team an impressive snow fort on either side of the parking lot. Jess was the captain of one team, while I was the captain of the other. Melody was a bit tired from teleporting people home when we came out to play so she wisely decided to stay inside, where it was warm, and she’d be out of harm’s way.

On Jess’s team, she had Lou, Alison, Carmen, and Mallory. On my side (which I was secretly calling the Munchkin Squad), I had Selina, Nova, Phoebe, and little Sorcha. With my teammates being only thirteen or fourteen, and Sorcha only being four years old, poor Jess actually thought they had the advantage here. Now it was time to rain, or rather snow, on her parade.

We were lulling them into a false sense of security and to all appearances, it looked like they were overwhelming us. The girls on my team all looked tired, but that was what we wanted them to think. Poor Sorcha was practically vibrating while pretending to pathetically lob snowballs over the fort wall at our opponents. Okay, so that really was as far as she could throw, but she had enthusiasm, and she wanted to run right at them in a head-on assault. The poor girl was probably going to crash hard and take a long nap after lunch though.

I had convinced the girls to wait before hitting them with a frontal assault though; to let them think they had the advantage. As they assaulted our fort, I focused on building a wall behind them with Ice magic, to cut off their escape. Once that wall was completed, I was able to focus my concentration on other things.

I brazenly stepped out of our fort, deflecting snowy projectiles from their paths and sometimes sending them back at the people who had thrown them. “Hey! No fair using Ice magic, Sis! That’s cheating!” Jess complained.

“It’s not cheating, it’s an evolutionary advantage!” I countered as I sent her snowball back to hit her in the chest.

“Withdraw! We need to regroup!” she commanded her team, and they all turned to make a run for it, only to see the wall preventing that.

“Mwahahaha! Now, my minions! Arise, and make them rue the day they attacked the Ice Queendom of Crystalia!” I called out. Now was the time.

The girls poured from the fort, even little Sorcha, who was having trouble running in this much snow, even with as much as I had cleared to make the fort. They were pelting snowballs at our enemies for all they were worth as they shouted, “For the Queen! For Crystalia!” I made sure the return fire didn’t hit us, since most of us were plastered with snowball hits already, and tried to give Sorcha’s snowballs a little extra oomph so they could reach our opponents.

“She’s gone mad with power,” Carmen exclaimed with a theatrical gasp, only for a snowball to splatter against her face an instant later, leaving her sputtering snow.

“Attack their Queen! Without her, they will falter!” Alison tried. “If we overwhelm her, she can’t stop them all!”

Her words were promptly met by a renewed assault upon her person, led by her little sister who was giggling and grinning as she said to Selina, “Your mom is a riot.”

“Yeah, Momma is the best,” my daughter agreed as she pelted her Aunt Jess with a snowball.

“We gots dem, Queen Crystal, we gots dem!” Sorcha gleefully announced as they closed in and she continued to lob snowballs at our trapped opponents with all the energy her small form could summon. Even her little arms couldn’t miss at that range.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and soon it was almost lunchtime, and the snow-clearing team sent by the PDA, consisting of three Ice Mages, showed up to clear the parking lot, walkway, and street access for us. It didn’t matter to them that the place looked like a battlefield now since they would just be shifting it all into big piles at the edges of the parking lot using Ice magic anyway. If anything, they seemed amused, and their team leader even tried to recruit me.

I politely declined the offer, telling him that I already had a job and school taking up much of my time. Then I thanked them for doing their job and headed back inside with the others. I had to pull a lot of snow off Jess’s team though, to make sure they didn’t make a mess in the club. We might have gone a little overboard.

After we were done enjoying the snow outside and had gotten out of our outer layers, we found lunch waiting for us, including some hot chocolate to warm up those of us who were cold. I had some too, of course, but not because I was cold or anything. It was hot chocolate that Cindy made, and it was delicious.

“Next time, we’re setting ground rules about Ice magic, Sis,” my sister said with a pout as we all settled in for lunch and she sipped at her hot beverage. “We would have won if you hadn’t cheated.”

I nommed on a mouthful of fries and then grinned at her. “It wasn’t cheating, it was strategy. If you were thinking strategically, you would have had me promise not to use Ice magic for the fight.”

“Suuuure,” Lou said with a roll of his eyes.

“I had a blast,” Nova piped up. “I’ve never really been in a snowball fight like that before.”

“I’m pretty sure nobody has ever been in a snowball fight like that before,” Alison pointed out with a smile.

We all continued to happily chat and eat lunch and once everyone in the club was pleasantly full, we helped Cindy and Brock take all the dishes, and what little leftovers there were, back to the kitchen. Then Melody took Phoebe, Alison, and Nova to their respective homes. Once all our guests were gone, everyone hung around the club level while Mallory swore a binding oath to guard and protect the secrets of everyone living at the club.

Mallory took the opportunity to ask, “What level of secrets are we talking about here? I mean, we’re Efreeti, Mom is an escaped slave of the Chimera Syndicate, and I was only born because they were trying to breed her. She’s always loved me and tried her best to give me a good life, but that was kind of life-altering when I Manifested, and she told me. I’m sure you don’t have anything much bigger than that, right?”

Everyone in the room exchanged looks before Pandora spoke up. “Maybe we should start off easy, hmm? We have a Wisp and a Salamander in our basement to provide our power and electricity and keep us off the main grid.”

“She’s the Night Princess, though that’s sort of an open secret to almost every Paranormal in town,” Nadia contributed as she jerked a thumb toward Carmilla.

“My daughter is a white Selkie, one of a kind as far as we know. She’s aligned to both Water and the Divine and she has the ability to completely purify water according to Ashe, the Salamander that Pandora mentioned,” Aislinn said as she held Sorcha in her lap.

Isabella looked toward Carmen and then offered, “My daughter and I aren’t Divine Mages, we’re actually Healers.”

“These tattoos,” Carmen said as she gently slapped the Salamander mark on her arm, “aren’t just tattoos. The ones that Selina, Jess, and Lou have are exactly what we’ve been telling the school. Crystal, Sorcha, and I got ours after Ashe clutched some eggs and gave them to us to protect us. Salamanders are symbiotic and need to live inside their hosts until they’re mature. In return they make their hosts impervious to heat and fire, allow us to travel to the Fire Plane, and to telepathically speak with Salamanders or anyone else who is bonded with one.”

“I got mine when Crystal and I were on our first date, and we had to make a stop on the Fire Plane to dispose of the bodies of the trolls who wanted to sell Crystal into slavery. She made friends with a giant lava Kraken who was happy to help. When the Salamanders are old enough, they can manifest outside our bodies and their flames can get even hotter than what you Efreeti can manage,” Melody added.

Mom took the opportunity for her big reveal next. “I’m not truly a River Nymph. I’m actually a Divine Nymph, better known as a Muse.”

“I’m a Muse too, but I’m aligned to both Ice and the Divine,” I said with a sigh. “I also used to be a dude named Seth before Manifesting last month while Jess and I were in hiding. Our dad was killed because Demons put out a hit on him. I was on the same hit list, and there are probably still Paranormal bounty hunters and assassins looking for the old me. They don’t know about Mom though, or that I Manifested, or they would have probably shown up here by now.”

“Oh, and I was one of those Paranormal assassins, but I double-crossed the Demons and faked Seth’s death,” Melody casually added with a grin. “They found out, and now they’re after me too. My paranoia and using a different form and name when I was working back then should keep them from finding me though. Since we all got new identities and have changed our appearances, they shouldn’t be able to track us down though.”

“Paranoia is putting it lightly, Melody,” Jess teased in the brief silence that followed. “You should see the huge gun and the other stuff she carries in her purse. If Krysti hadn’t given us purses of holding for Christmas, she’d still be carrying that huge shoulder bag around. It wasn’t exactly subtle.”

With each secret that was revealed, Mallory’s jaw seemed to drop further, and her mother looked absolutely stunned by the time Jess broke the silence. The first of the two to speak was Mallory as she muttered. “Holy shit. It’s no wonder you wanted us to take binding oaths. Any one of those secrets…” She either couldn’t or didn’t want to follow that train of thought to whatever conclusion it might present, at least, not vocally.

Calliope seemed to be struggling with what to say after everything that had just been revealed to her and her daughter. So, of course, that was when her phone rang. She answered it without thinking. “Hello?”

In the silence, my ears were plenty sharp enough to hear what was being said on the other end. “Calliope, it’s Jack. I can’t make it in today, so you’ll have to come in to work the night shift.” What the hell? The jackass didn’t even ask nicely, he just told her she had to come in, like it was preordained or some shit.

“Jack, I can’t. I’m dealing with some pretty big shit right now and I’m halfway across the city. I’m also supposed to be working the morning shift, and I am not working another double,” the Efreeti replied. She did not look happy at all.

Jack’s response was, “Why the hell not? You’ve always done it before when I ask. Either come in to work or you’re fired. We have plenty of people applying to replace you.”

“Again?” Mallory hissed as she glared at the phone in her mother’s hand, though she probably couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end. I guess it wasn’t the first time something like this happened. It wasn’t all that surprising either, good workers are often taken advantage of and until now, Calliope had been desperate enough for money to take those extra shifts without complaint. This time she didn’t.

“Fuck you, Jack,” Calliope said as the flames on her head flared violently before she took a deep breath and reduced them to embers again. “Cover the damn shift yourself, and you can work a double for once. While you’re at it, you can take my job and shove it up your ass. I quit.” Her calm tone belied the anger in her eyes and once she was finished telling him to go fuck himself, she promptly hung up.

Mallory was staring at her mother in shock as Calliope’s phone rang again. This time, the elder Efreeti ignored it and promptly blocked the number to stop the noise. Then she smiled at Pandora and my mother and said, “Well, I guess I don’t need to give my two weeks’ notice after all.

Pandora grinned at the club’s newest entertainer as she replied, “Good, the girls will be training you hard this week while the club is closed. Now, let’s talk about getting you and Mallory moved in.”

Calliope and Mallory didn’t have a lot that they needed to move since the place they were living in came furnished. They were only really concerned about their clothes, a few personal items, and a few other small things that we could probably fit in one load with the club’s truck. With that in mind, I offered to drive them home in the truck so they could get their things and Melody and Aunt Merry decided to join us to keep us all safe.

Calliope’s directions took us to a trailer park on the outskirts of the city and then to a very small mobile home that had seen better days. It was no more impressive inside than it was outside. Calliope had done her best to make a home out of the place, but it was small and cramped, and they were stuck with the furniture it came with. There were two bedrooms, but they were both small, barely big enough to fit the bed and dresser that each had, and the closet space left much to be desired as well.

Melody frowned and brought another matter to my attention as we started packing the stuff in Mallory’s room into the suitcases that me and Jess had loaned her to make things easier. “Is it always so cold in here? Or did the electricity outage affect here as well?”

Mallory shook her head, as a frown turned her lips downward. “The furnace hasn’t been working for a couple of weeks now. Like everything else here, it’s ancient. Mom called the guy we’re renting from to complain and to get someone here to fix it, but he hasn’t done anything yet. It’s a good thing that me and Mom can generate our own heat, even in our human forms.”

She wasn’t lying about everything being old. Calling the furniture second-hand was being generous, the trailer itself was ancient, and it looked like it hadn’t been renovated or redecorated since the eighties. The walls and curtains both hosted faded stains of age and water damage and the floor tiles were peeling, with spots where they had been worn through entirely. In short, the place was a hellhole.

My hand clenched into a fist around the hanger that hosted the school uniform that I was pulling from the closet. “You mean to tell me that on top of living in this shithole, which your mom could barely afford the rent on with two jobs, you’ve been without heat for a couple of weeks? In winter? If you were normies, you could have died by now, especially with that snowstorm last night!”

I was furious but poor Mallory just seemed resigned to it. She was used to it, which only served to piss me off further as she replied, “Mom was barely getting minimum wage from the store, and her night income has always been inconsistent. At least here people mostly stayed out of our business, and we had a roof over our heads. I think it might take us a while to get used to the luxury of our new rooms. Thanks, Crystal, y’know… for getting us out of here.”

I stopped pulling clothes out of the closet and placed them on the bed before wrapping my newest friend up in a hug. “I don’t need your thanks, Mallory, just your happiness. It’s like I told your mom; it’s common sense to help out a friend if I can and they need it. You and your mom needed it, so I’m glad I could help. I didn’t even do that much, just talked to Mom and Pandora.”

Mallory returned the hug, squeezing me tight. “Mom was right too though, Crystal. That kind of common sense isn’t very common. So, thanks for being you.”

A moment later we were back to getting everything out of her closet and dresser and into suitcases. It didn’t take long since most of it was just clothes, shoes, and stuff like that, and some makeup that she already kept in a plastic tote. Her school stuff was already in her school bag and most of the keepsakes that she wanted to keep, and decorations like posters on the walls, were easy enough to get in either the suitcases with the clothes and stuff or to put inside her makeup tote.

Her mother had as little as she did, maybe even less, and between her and Merry they had gotten pretty much everything that Calliope wanted to keep packed in the suitcases my mother and Pandora had loaned her from their last vacation. We were back home before dinnertime and the pair had the entire evening to settle in and get to know everyone better. Me and Melody helped Mallory get her things to her room and then Jess and Carmen joined us to help her get things put away properly.

After dinner, we took care of a few other important matters to help the new pair settle in, including a proper tour of the building and introducing her to Ashe and Jenny in the boiler room. Ashe took an instant liking to the pair, which wasn’t all that surprising since they were fire-aligned. Though the Salamander told those of us who could speak with her mentally that there was more than just that to it.

She could see more than their elemental alignment after all, and she confirmed my belief that Calliope and Mallory were both good people who deserved the chance we were giving them. I had a feeling that Ashe was already considering who she might give the eggs from her next clutch to, and Mallory and Selina were probably at the top of the list, with Calliope, my mother, Carmen’s mother, Carmilla, and Krysti close behind. I guess that just three eggs was small for a clutch. Usually, Salamanders can lay anywhere from three to eight eggs, so at least three people would be getting eggs from her after her next mating cycle.

After the tour, me and my fellow ‘kids’ of the club gathered up some snacks and drinks and had a little welcome party for Mallory in her new room. We were all sitting there, chatting away as we got comfortable, and Mallory was staring at the new, illusory Salamander mark on her arm. Mom had cast it on her just after we finished the tour.

Mom needed to refresh the ones on Lou, Selina, and Jess for the week, so she cast one for Mallory at the same time. Carmen, noting the direction of Mallory’s gaze, grinned and punched her lightly on the shoulder. “I guess that makes it official, you’re a Pandora’s Box kid now. Welcome to our crazy family.”

Sorcha said something excitedly and I thought I caught something about a Salamander, but it was hard to tell while she had her mouth full of cookie. Selina pulled the little one up onto the edge of the bed with her as she translated, “I think she said something about getting a real Salamander soon. Momma said it could be a long time though.”

“Grundle said roughly a year between clutches when ours hatched,” Carmen clarified, much to Sorcha’s disappointment.

I couldn’t be sure why she was disappointed though since she already had Squiggles, but she probably wanted to share the fun with Selina and be able to talk with her on the Salamander network. Now that our Salamanders were old enough to leave our bodies for short times and were close to actually communicating with us though, Melody, Carmen, and I were going to have to start laying down ground rules for them and ensure that Sorcha was doing the same thing. The last thing we needed was a curious Salamander with no discipline wandering around the club.

“Welcome, Mallory, we need another guy here though. I was already way outnumbered before and now there’s more of you. Not that I mind looking at pretty girls,” Lou offered with a grin. “I could use a guy to talk about guy stuff with though.”

“What, I don’t count?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No... I mean, yeah… I mean, I can talk about cars and stuff with you but you’re…” his sputtered protest trailed off as he backed away a bit and looked at me warily. “I probably don’t want to finish that sentence, do I?”

I kept giving him a stern look until I couldn’t anymore and started to giggle. “Oh, you’re learning! Nah, you’re off the hook this time, Teen Wolf. We all know that I’m way too pretty to be a guy.”

“And so modest too,” Melody teased as she put an arm around me and then kissed me. “You’re lucky that I find confidence so sexy.”

Lou just sagged in relief. “Thank God, I thought you were gonna freeze my balls off again.”

Jess smacked him upside the head and looked pointedly toward Sorcha as she hissed, “There are little ears present.”

“Not yours, Jess,” Lou replied with a glance at her bunny ears, earning him another slap upside the head.

I gave him a thoughtful look and a smile as said, “Maybe I could use some practice with my Ice magick after all.”

Lou froze, not literally though since I didn’t carry through on my threat. “I… uhh… sorry. Maybe the ears joke was taking things a hare too far.”

That earned him a pair of slaps upside the head, from both me and Jess as we groaned at the obvious pun and said, ““You’re terrible, Lou.”” It said a lot that we were getting so used to his terrible sense of humor, and/or him sticking his foot in his mouth, that our reactions were becoming synchronized. We weren’t even trying to do the twin-speak thing that time.

That time he winced, and grumbled, “You know it’s creepy when you two do that, right?”

Poor Mallory, who had been watching the whole thing, suddenly burst out laughing. Once she managed to calm her giggling, she asked, “Is it always like this here?”

“Nah,” Carmen replied. “Just when we’re all together like this. Now Crystal, Jess, and Melody are too busy to hang out much except on days like today, and Lou is often working on his car or gaming on his computer when he isn’t on Werewolf lockdown these days.”

“Yeah, I can get that. I’ll probably be busy with my job too,” Mallory agreed, though she was smiling as she said it. “Since I don’t have to worry about helping Mom make ends meet, I can make myself some spending money. Maybe I’ll save up to take some classes or something. I really like working in the kitchen, so I’m thinking about maybe going to culinary school or something.”

It was nice seeing Mallory thinking about the future and being able to prioritize her own wants and needs. She was starting to relax more too, which I hoped would help her to settle in easier. We all hung out and kept talking with one another until it was time for Sorcha and Selina to head to bed. Once they were both tucked in we all split off to do our own things. Jess, Carmen, and Mallory decided to see if there was anything good on TV, Lou wanted to get some gaming in before bed, and I was very eager to end what had been a very good day by having my girlfriend ravish me.

Monday turned out to be a wonderful day at school and not just because I got to finish the day with Auto Shop, working on the Supra. It was a little strange to have a day at school without Delilah and her friends trying to get me in trouble, saying nasty things, and generally harassing me and my friends. Delilah was keeping to the terms of the contract, but she also seemed to be on her guard, almost paranoid about what my friends might do to make her miserable while I was temporarily unable to do so myself.

Not that the others had done anything of the kind yet. Even Trixie, Rose, and my sister were holding themselves from doing anything to her yet. The plan was to keep her on edge, wondering what they might be planning, just to make her start jumping at shadows. I think that their secretive whispers at lunch, and the occasional glances in Delilah’s general direction were already starting to get to her.

Hopefully, by lunchtime on Wednesday, she would either be a nervous wreck waiting for something to happen or convinced that my friends couldn’t be bothered to harass her. Then, from after lunch on Wednesday until the deal ended at lunch on Friday, the girls would start hitting Delilah with every prank they could conceive of getting away with. I couldn’t wait to see the chaos unleashed. I might not be able to get involved, but I could still enjoy the show.

Speaking of shows, when we got home, I had to get ready for work since Melody, Jess, and I were all working. None of us would be working until closing since we had school in the morning, but we were scheduled to work until eleven o’clock. I was still a little nervous about performing in front of paying customers for the first time, but it actually turned out to be a non-event.

The first hour of my shift was mostly spent on one of the mini stages to the sides of the bars, broken up with a couple of pole dancing sessions off to the side of the main stage. I was getting pretty decent tips, even though we weren’t really busy yet. While I was expecting nobody to pay attention to my pole routine while Rhissa or Pandora were front and center on the same stage, taking off clothes and flaunting their bodies, there were a few people seated on the stools to my side of the stage, watching me in rapt fascination.

It could be just the fact that I was new that garnered that interest, or that there were some regulars who liked to watch the pole dancers in general, but it was nice to know that my efforts weren’t for nothing. And it was so fun too. I was feeling pretty good as I finished my second such set, collected the bills scattered around the stage in front of my pole, and headed backstage.

Each of the entertainers has a lockbox backstage with our name and a combination on it, where we place all our tips and fees for extra services to be counted at the end of the night. Pandora and Mom were the only ones besides the dancers in question who had the combinations and they counted everyone’s earnings themselves before extracting the club’s thirty percent, leaving the rest in our lockboxes for us to pick up tomorrow morning. I carefully placed my gathered tips in my lockbox, toweled off the sweat from my exertion, and then put on my robe since it was my dinner break.

I had a few men watching me in interest as I made my way through the club to the booths where we usually ate near the kitchen, but it was still too early for people to be interested in extra services or the like. We probably wouldn’t be getting the dinner rush for another half hour or so, which would probably be in full swing by the time I had my first big performance on the main stage in an hour. Jess and Rhissa were both on their dinner break as well, so they joined me to eat.

Jess and I were getting a lot of looks from the men who started coming in when the dinner rush did hit, but thankfully Jess’s bartending uniform let the regulars know that she was off-limits. The fact that Rhissa and I were in the booth with her, and both wearing robes at the moment, told people that we were on our meal breaks as well, so we weren’t bothered as we ate and were able to enjoy our time together. It was around quarter after six, fifteen minutes before I was due on stage, when Rhissa asked, “So, how are the nerves tonight, Crystal? Are you ready for some real stage time?”

I considered the question for a moment before replying honestly. “Actually, it’s not that bad. I think doing that improv performance on Saturday night helped my confidence a bit and working up to things on the smaller stages and the pole have been helping me to relax a bit. I can just dance with no clothes and no pressure. I’m still a bit nervous about messing up on the big stage, but if I do then I’ll just keep going on with the show.”

“Don’t worry, you have the routines down and it’s mostly muscle memory, letting your body do what you’ve trained it to, and occasionally flirting with someone in the crowd,” the Huldra assured me.

“Yup, you’ll do fine, Sis, better than I ever could,” my sister agreed as she wrapped me in a side hug. “You’re actually pretty good at this, I’ve been hearing some of the regulars talking about you. Well, that and trying to get some inside information from me about what you might be interested in.”

My eyes widened and my eyebrows rose at that as I asked, “Really? What have you been telling them?”

“That I have no interest in my twin sister’s sex life,” she replied with a laugh. “You may get some offers for extra services later though. A couple asked what your favorite drink is. Don’t worry, I told them that you absolutely love a drink called Arctic Ice.”

I snickered but nodded. “That does sound like my kind of drink, but what is it? I didn’t see that on the drink menu.”

“It’s not on the menu, and everyone knows that we’re fine with mixing drinks not on the menu if we know how it’s made, or the customer does,” Jess said with a grin as she lowered her voice so nobody beyond the three of us could hear. “In your case, it’s code for a non-alcoholic drink for you, like the Savannah Sunset that the Dicken sisters order. Most of the dancers have one they specifically drink like Carmilla has the Vampire’s Kiss, which is actually just a Bloody Mary… with real blood that we keep chilled in a thermos for her.”

“Mine is the Horny Huldra,” Rhissa said with a smirk.

“I got to create yours and name it, Sis,” Jess continued, her voice still low. “It’s basically just lemonade with blue food coloring and some mint extract added to some shaved ice, with just enough vodka and salt on the rim to make it smell alcoholic and look like ice crystals. Add a blue straw and a wedge of lime for appearances and you’re good to go.”

“Aww, thanks, Sis, that sounds awesome,” I told her as I hugged her. Then, looking at the time, I said, “Well, I should go get into my stage clothes, I’ve got a show to do.”

Thankfully, I managed to pull off my first performance on the big stage without a hitch. The club was really busy by the time I stepped out on stage as Derek announced me and the opening notes of Ice Queen by Within Temptation started up. There were a lot of eyes on the stage, but l managed to keep calm and have fun with it, my body mostly working on autopilot through the choreography. Even the best times to take off an item of my ice princess costume in time with the music to amp up the audience were basically a part of the choreography.

All that I really needed to focus on consciously was when to flirt with some of the customers near the stage by giving the come-hither eyes, running a finger across my lips before blowing a kiss, running my hands sensually down my body, or moving enough to tease at what was underneath my half cape and the sheer material of my dress. At first, the audience seemed frozen in their seats, unable to do anything but watch my movements, as if hypnotized, but as my act went on with the removal of my cape, they started really getting into it. By the time the last notes of Cold as Ice by Ava Max trailed off, I had the crowd eating out of my hands and the front of the stage was littered with cold hard cash.

After flirting a bit with some of the people watching, I gathered my clothes and cash from around the stage so that the part-timer who cleaned the stage between acts could do his job. I put the money in my cash box, toweled off, and then cleaned both the towel and my clothes with Divine magic before putting them back on my costumes rack. Then I left the backstage area to enjoy a break after twenty minutes of physical exercise before my next set on one of the mini stages.

Three of Jess’s new drinks for me were dropped off by one of the waitresses moments after I sat down with Sukoha and Nixie who were both taking a breather between sets as well. “Well, somebody is popular,” Nixie teased.

Laughing, I offered the other two drinks to my fellow dancers, who looked as thirsty as I was. The drink was nice, cool, and refreshing with all that shaved ice, and the slightly cooling hint of mint made it pleasantly different than any lemonade I had tried before. My sister knew me so well. Sukoha seemed to share my tastes as she said, “Oh, this is good. What was this one called?”

“It’s an Arctic Ice,” I told her with a smile.

She smiled back, displaying her long needle-like teeth. “Cool, I’ll have to order this one once in a while. It’s very refreshing.”

I stopped giggling at her pun and was taking another taste of the wonderful drink when a man approached our table. He was probably in his late twenties, tall and well-built, with a chiseled jaw, dark brown hair, and blue eyes. At least, that was what the glamour that I could sense was telling me.

It was a good glamour too, very convincing, which was weird since most of our clientele saw no reason to hide their true selves in a business catering specifically to Paranormals. In fact, we had a ‘no glamours or illusions’ policy at the door so we could properly ID anyone entering the club. Annika could detect them and that, in addition to her size and strength, made her the perfect doorperson for the club.

Still, I guess that couldn’t stop people from casting a glamour again as soon as they were past the door. It just wasn’t very common, at least to my knowledge. He seemed friendly though as he said, “Hi. You’re Crystal, the new girl, right?” the man asked after greeting both of the other girls by name.

Despite my confusion over the glamour, I gave him a friendly smile and nodded. Sukoha and Nixie both seemed familiar with him, so that probably meant that he wasn’t a danger to us. “Yes, that’s me,” I replied.

“Crystal, this is… Carl,” Sukoha offered with a grin, “a regular patron here at the club.”

“Carl is probably responsible for at least one of these drinks and is most likely wondering if you’d be up for some extra services, Crystal. This one always has to try out the club’s new flavors,” Nixie added, but her tone was teasing and familiar, so I figured that this person was probably somebody she knew well.

Carl flushed but nodded. “Yes, actually, I was wondering if she might be interested. Maybe if the two of you have time, you’d be interested in joining us for a group session, if Crystal is willing.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t,” Nixie offered apologetically. “I’m due on the main stage soon.”

Sukoha, who had been on the main stage just before me, seemed to be seriously considering it though. “Well, if Crystal is interested, I would love to join in. Neither of us has to be back on the main stage for a couple of hours yet. I’m on again at nine, and I think Crystal is after me at nine-thirty.”

As the Kuromihar turned to give me a questioning look, I nodded. “Yeah, I’m not on until nine-thirty. As long as we’re done by nine so I can put Selina to bed, I’d be willing to give it a try. I do love sex.” I managed to keep my voice calm and casual, even though my heart was suddenly racing at the thought of having sex with someone for money for the first time.

Okay, this was good, it was probably even better this way. The others seemed familiar enough with this guy that he was probably safe, and having someone I could trust with me the first time serving a guy like this would probably make things more comfortable for me. Besides, Sukoha was definitely on the yes list where it concerned group stuff and I’d get to have fun with her too, right?

I was barely cognizant of Carl smiling as he and Sukoha talked over the details, I quickly finished my drink, and Nixie leaned closer to whisper in my ear. “It’ll be fine, Crystal. In fact, this is probably the best scenario for your first time doing this. Carla is really a woman; she’s in the closet and uses a glamour so other customers don’t recognize her, and we can keep her secret. She’s a good lover, very gentle and sweet, and so is Sukoha, they’ll take good care of you. I’ll let Pan and Tiffani know that you’re both offering extra services until nine.”

My mind was damn near short-circuited as her words unraveled in my mind. Oh, my Goddess. I just agreed to have a threesome with Sukoha and another woman I don’t know, and now I was suddenly dripping wet. As Nixie paused to take a sip of her drink I whispered back, “Umm… yeah, and someone might need to wipe down this chair.”

The Undine nearly spat out her drink as she laughed.

I was in a bit of a daze as I walked with Sukoha and the disguised Carla to the elevator. This would be my first time seeing the second-floor rooms and giving extra services. I had expected that first time to be one-on-one with some random guy and had even been looking forward to that in a way, even if the thought made me nervous. Now, I found myself eagerly awaiting what was to come, my heart racing with excitement as we rode the elevator to the second floor, yet I was a lot less nervous than I thought I would be.

Nixie was right though, having someone that I knew and trusted with me for the first time, and a woman who had a reputation as a gentle lover, was probably the best way this could have worked out. If it was some guy who just wanted a quick fuck with a hot girl, I didn’t think I would be as comfortable at first. Oh sure, I would have probably thoroughly enjoyed the sex once I got over my nerves about doing it with some stranger, but I also would have been worried about him being too rough or trying to push past any limits I set.

In this case, both Sukoha and Nixie seemed to trust and like Carla though, and I knew they wouldn’t put me in a situation that would be dangerous or uncomfortable for me. Sukoha was also one of the sweetest and gentlest people I knew, even if she could be a bit of a tease. Not only that, but she was also beautiful in an exotic way, and after seeing her perform, I had gained an appreciation for her flexibility and the quiet strength and grace of her body.

Carla was a mystery though, and I found myself very curious about her. She seemed liked and trusted by the club’s entertainers, enough so that Mom and Pandora allowed her to use a glamour to hide her true self inside the club. Annika had to know about her to let her through the door like that, though she probably had some way to confirm it really was her under the glamour.

The moment that we were inside one of the rooms with the door closed behind us, Carla dispelled her illusion and began removing her clothes, allowing me to see her true form for the first time. She was a tall woman, probably in her mid-twenties, with piercing blue eyes, a slender waist, wide and shapely hips, and a pair of firm-looking breasts that seemed neither too large nor too small for her frame. Without some sort of glamour to hide her true appearance, there was no way that she would be able to go out in public without drawing a crowd.

It wasn’t the piercing blue eyes, the long hair that was as white as mine, or the killer body that would get her too much attention without a glamour of some sort, though I’m sure they wouldn’t help matters. No, she would get attention because of her pale blue skin and the fact that she had four arms instead of the regular two. She certainly got my attention anyway.

I had never seen a Paranormal quite like her before, so I was a little stunned and not really thinking as I said, “Wow, four arms. That must have been really weird to get used to when you Manifested.” Thankfully, she didn’t seem to take offense and giggled a bit as I awkwardly watched her take her bra off and slip out of her panties. Neither Sukoha nor I needed to worry about undressing since we were both already happily naked.

“I’m sure it would have,” Carla kindly replied, “if I Manifested in my teens like my mother’s people and a lot of other Paranormals do. I’m Mixed, and I was born like this. My mother is a Frostkin, one of the Ice elementals, and I guess my father was an Amikuk from up north. I guess they were a little too compatible because while I’m technically an Ice elemental like my mother, I got the extra arms and some physical strength from my father, and Ice magic and the ability to use glamours to change my appearance like my mother.”

Oh, an Ice elemental! That certainly explained why I was sensing a sort of low-key Ice magic from her, even though she wasn’t using any at the moment. “Cool, I don’t get to meet other people aligned to Ice very often,” I said with a grin.

“Yeah, you’re both scary strong Ice magic users. Just try not to slip up when we’re having our fun, my kind don’t do well in the cold,” Sukoha teased before sticking her tongue out between needle-like teeth. Her tongue was long, almost serpentine, and I shivered at the thought of the things she might use it for in this situation. Over the next hour and a half, I would find out how very well she could use that tongue as she used it to repeatedly bring both Carla and me to the heights of pleasure. Carla was very adept with all four of her arms too.

Nixie was right about Carla and Sukoha both being gentle lovers. It wasn’t the raw, fiery sex that I envisioned for my first time with a paying customer. Oh, we were all very enthusiastic, of course, and my desire was well-sated afterward, but it was also gentle and loving, and such a learning experience for me.

Up until then, my only real experience with sex was my attempts and self-pleasure and making love to Melody. The former was largely instinctual and usually driven by urgent need while the latter was admittedly clumsy. Neither Melody nor I had much, if any, experience with sex before getting together and we were still mostly exploring one another and trying to find out what worked and what didn’t in terms of each other’s likes and needs.

With Sukoha and Carla, it was different. They were both very experienced and seemed to have no trouble bringing me to orgasm over and over. They also weren’t afraid to guide me to help me improve my skills at pleasing another woman. I learned so much that I wanted to try out with Melody, to show her what a good student I was.

Gentle and caring sex with two other women at the same time was very interesting as well, one of us was always giving and getting pleasure in a way that I hadn’t experienced before. It was a perfect symphony of sexual give and take that I thought I might want to enjoy again sometime. It didn’t just end with the sex though.

Once we were all lying there, spent and satisfied beyond measure, we still had almost half an hour left of the time that Carla had paid for before Sukoha had to get ready to go back on stage and I had to go put Selina to bed. Did Carla want to go for round six? No, she wanted to just talk, with one of us on either side of her as we cuddled. It was an eye-opening experience that helped me learn more about both of my bedmates.

This time, aftercare as Carla called it, was part of what she wanted when she came to Pandora’s Box. Oh sure, she said that the sex part was always fantastic and satisfied her needs, but for her it was about connecting with other Paranormal women too, being able to just talk and get to know one another. It wasn’t something that she got to enjoy very much since she had responsibilities.

Her mother was obscenely wealthy, some sort of CEO, and she was grooming Carla to take her place someday at the head of the family business. That required her to spend much of her time when she wasn’t working hobnobbing with the rich and influential in the city, and most of those were normies who weren’t in the know about Paranormals. She got weary of wearing a glamour all the time and she wasn’t out of the closet yet so she came here to get both the sexual relief and the socialization with other Paranormals that she needed.

At first, she tried coming to the club in a different female glamour than her usual appearance, but that didn’t go well. Some of the club’s male patrons took too much of an interest in her for her liking, so she talked to my mom and Pandora, and they came up with the idea for her to wear the male glamour. Annika knew it was her whenever she arrived because she always used the same glamour, and they had a sort of code phrase to confirm her identity.

We didn’t just talk about Carla though. I learned a lot about Sukoha too. She told us a bit about her life before Mom and Salem found her, saved her life, and brought her here so she’d be safe. She had never really opened up about her life before coming to the club, at least not while I was around to hear it.

The Kuromihar was probably one of the last few remaining people of her kind alive. They had been displaced and scattered as mankind encroached on their home in the Amazon rainforest. They were already an endangered Paranormal species by that time and human encroachment affected not only their forest home but their main food source as well. Some fled further into the rainforest, hoping to find new prey to hunt and maintain their way of life but a few, like Sukoha, fled to human lands and tried to adapt.

For several months, she had tried to live in Rio de Janeiro, homeless, living on the streets, eating what rats and other small animals she could catch, and wrapped in rags to hide her appearance from the normies. Then she was discovered and spent weeks on the run from ‘monster hunters’ before they caught up with her and very nearly killed her. She was half-starved, exhausted, and lacked the strength to fight back, and that was when my mom and Pandora showed up and saved her pretty little ass.

I guess she hadn’t told Carla any of this during their previous sessions either because she seemed very interested and even asked a few questions. Sukoha finished her brief tale by telling us that while Pandora distracted her attackers, my mom got her safely away and she woke up in Mom and Pandora’s hotel room. I knew what happened after that, but I wasn’t surprised to hear a slightly edited version of the events.

She said that Mom had contacted a local Divine mage while she was out cold, to heal her and provide an enchanted festival mask that would allow her to learn English at an accelerated rate and disguise her to let her travel safely. Sukoha and I both knew now that it was my mother who had done the healing and enchanted the mask, but that was a secret. I may have found myself liking Carla, and even trusting her to some degree, but I was very pleased that Sukoha had edited her tale.

Carla also asked what my life was like and, when I told her I had just turned eighteen, why I was starting to work here so young. I told her as much as I could without giving away anything that needed to be kept secret. I gave her the abbreviated version of the history that Jimmy had come up with for me and Jess, talked about how close I was to my twin, told her about my girlfriend, how we discovered Selina being attacked, and how she imprinted on me as her mother figure.

“So, you see, having a daughter to raise and my needs as a Nymph made this job kind of a necessity,” I explained. “I need to have lots of sex anyway, the pay is good, and I’ve discovered that I really enjoy performing too. Even though we’re both getting room and board covered right now, I have to be able to take care of Selina’s other basic needs, like clothes and schooling, and I have to think about her future too. I’m only working part-time right now because I want to finish school, and Mom wants me to as well.”

“Isn’t that hard though? Balancing school, work, and raising a kid? You just turned eighteen, you should be enjoying life, not being tied down. One of my biggest regrets is not taking a year off after I graduated high school to just live a little and make some friends in the Paranormal community,” she said with a frown and concern in both her eyes and her tone of voice.

“I have a good support system here, with my family and Melody, and that family includes the other entertainers at the club,” I said with a shrug. “I like the job, and it suits my needs, and honestly, Selina deserves a good life. She thinks of me as her mother, and knowing that, I won’t abandon her.”

“We’ve been helping to homeschool and get her caught up while Crystal is in school during the day,” Sukoha added before letting out a giggle. “Not that I’m much help with my lack of education, I sometimes think I’m learning more than she is. Selina is a sweet girl though, and she needs a supportive family, we’re all proud of Crystal for stepping up and doing her best for her. She’s so happy now, such a big difference already from when Crystal brought her home a few weeks ago.”

“I guess you’d know better than most what it’s like for a Paranormal living on the street,” Carla agreed sadly. “I didn’t mean to say that you shouldn’t take on the responsibility, I’m just pleasantly surprised. Not a lot of people your age would do that, and I’m sure you’ll give her a good life.”

“Thanks, Carla,” I said as I nuzzled closer. “I don’t regret stepping up and I’m ready to put in the work and time to give her a better life than she had before. I… think living on the streets was actually better than what she had before. Selina hasn’t said anything, but you can see it in the poor girl’s eyes, and in how she reacts to certain words and situations, how badly she was treated by the people who raised her before she ran away. She was badly abused; it took her days to relax around anyone but me and Jess, and she still gets jumpy and looks over her shoulder at times. Sometimes, I worry that I’m not doing enough for her.”

Sukoha reached over the woman between us to grip my hand firmly in one of hers. “You’re doing the best you can, Crystal, and that’s all anyone can ask. She adores you and you’re doing your best to give her a loving and supportive home and to take good care of her. She sees that; we all can see that. I’m glad that Carla asked for both of us tonight. I’ve been wanting to tell you how much I admire you for the way you’ve stepped up to take care of that poor girl.”

I thought that was all she was going to say but then she squeezed my hand, grinned, and giggled as she added, “You’re fun in bed too. You make the cutest little noises when you get close to cumming.”

That got a laugh out of Carla as she agreed, “She does, doesn’t she? She’s like a cute little mouse gasping for air.”

I could feel my cheeks burning. I might not have a sense of modesty but that did not mean I couldn’t get embarrassed. “I do not,” I mumbled as I pouted at them both, which only got them both giggling even harder.

“You do… and your… pout is so cute too,” Carla managed to get out between fits of giggles. “I might have to request the two of you together again next time I’m in. Maybe we can add Rhissa too, her sounds and her pout are almost as cute as yours.”

Sukoha laughed along with her and replied, “I couldn’t possibly say no to that if we can manage the time. I can’t imagine how cute the two of them would be together, and now I need to find out.” Then with a glance at the alarm clock on the bedside table, she let out a sigh. “On that note though, our time is up. I’ll need to hurry to clean up a bit and get ready for my next show. It’s a shame, you’re always such a refreshing change from the quick and eager guys, Carla.”

She leaned over to give each of us a kiss and I quickly returned the gesture for both of my bed partners as well before we both moved to get out of bed. “Thanks, both of you, I was kinda worried about my first time with a club patron, but you made it fun and memorable. I guess I’ll go with you, Sukoha, I’ll need to put something on before I go put Selina to bed.”

“Well, let’s go rinse off in the shower first, Crystal, we can share so it goes faster,” offered the green-skinned beauty with the crimson hair.

“Sure, that sounds good. I’d rather not smell like sex when I put my daughter to bed,” I agreed with a nervous laugh as it hit me that I had just officially had sex for money.

“You girls go ahead,” Carla offered with a satisfied smile, “I’ll take a nice, long, hot shower after you’re done. I’m going to be sore all over if I don’t after what the two of you did to me.”

My shower with Sukoha was quick and while we helped each other clean up, there was nothing sexual about it since neither of us had the time to enjoy it and were still content and satisfied from our time with Carla. We even wore shower caps that were kept in the bathroom so we wouldn’t have to worry about getting our hair wet. I guess it made sense to keep some in there since quick cleanups after entertaining a client were probably not uncommon.

While she was washing my back though, Sukoha did lean in close to whisper. “Good job, Crystal. I enjoyed myself, and I know that Carla did too. Congratulations, you’re officially one of us now.”

It didn’t take long for us to finish cleaning each other up and to dry off, and soon we were back in the bedroom, where Carla was lazing on the bed and smiling sensually at us. “Well, the shower is all yours now, Carla,” I offered. “Thanks again for making my first time doing this memorable.”

“No, thank you. Spending time with the two of you was a pleasure,” she said, still smiling that satisfied smile as she got up and passed between us, taking the opportunity to kiss us both chastely on the cheek and give us both a light and playful slap on our bottoms. “I’ve left the agreed amount on the bedside table, along with a little tip. I’ll see you both again soon.”

The slap earned a slight squeak of surprise from me and before I could recover and retaliate, she was out of reach and halfway into the bathroom. Sukoha pulled me along toward the bed with a smile, reached for the stack of hundreds that sat on the desk, and quickly counted them out. There were twenty-four of them and she counted twelve of those to hand to me.

“Huh, we only agreed to a thousand apiece, she must have really enjoyed herself tonight,” Sukoha said as she handed me my half. “Carla’s one of the good ones though. She makes sure we enjoy ourselves as much as she does and she’s generous too.”

I hadn’t been paying much attention when Sukoha negotiated with Carla in the club, being nervous and distracted, but this was not what I was expecting. Had I seriously just made over a grand for two hours of doing something I enjoyed anyway? Even with the club taking thirty percent of it, this was a lot of money. It was no wonder the other girls could afford such nice cars and clothes. “That’s… a lot,” I said as I gazed at the small wad of bills in my hand.

“Most of our patrons can afford it,” Sukoha replied as she pulled me to the door and out into the hallway. “Some pay less, some pay more, usually it depends on what they want, but usually these group things pay pretty well. For mutual enjoyment and aftercare, this is actually quite a bit. It’s not like one-on-one, where we have a set price list for anything the patron might want, even the less affluent of them. For group rates, generally the more weird, extreme, or specific they are about what they want, the more we charge. If they have something special in mind, have them be specific when negotiating, and ensure they know your limits because we only give them what they’ve negotiated for.”

We caught the elevator downstairs and quickly slipped through the door to the backstage area, where we each placed our payment in our lockboxes. Then, while Sukoha started getting dressed in her jungle princess costume for her next show, I grabbed my robe and slipped it on before heading upstairs to help Selina get ready for bed. I enjoyed the time just relaxing a bit with her before kissing her goodnight and heading back downstairs to get ready for my next show.

The rest of my first night as an official entertainer at Pandora’s Box went pretty smoothly. My naughty schoolgirl bit was a big success with the patrons, going by the cash littering the stage afterward, and I didn’t even get to do any of my pole dance or mini-stage routines because some guy wanted to negotiate a threesome with me and Rhissa. He was willing to pay handsomely for it, even if he could only have us for an hour. He was cute, in his mid-twenties, and wearing an expensive suit, and the timing worked out because Rhissa wasn’t due on stage again for another two hours.

He seemed disappointed that I could only play around for an hour until I explained, “My shift ends at eleven because I have school tomorrow, and Mom doesn’t want me skipping.”

The look on his face was priceless and I could see Rhissa holding back laughter as much as I was. I could just see the wheels in his mind turning after that schoolgirl look I was rocking on stage. “Y-you’re kidding, right?”

“No. You know Fey can’t lie, right?” I told him very seriously in my cute and chirpy voice, despite the giggles threatening to erupt from the look on his face. “I just turned eighteen but I’m still in high school, so I need to get up in time for school.” Then I allowed a little of my nervousness to show through as I added, again completely honestly, “This would be my first time with a guy though, so please, be gentle.”

I thought that he was going to let his load loose right there in his pants and he was very quick to agree to the terms and payment that Rhissa proposed. He didn’t even try to haggle, and I was pretty sure that Rhissa was way overcharging him, going by the smile on her face and the way her cow-like tail was swishing happily behind her. We were both set to make almost as much money in that one hour as Sukoha and I had in two hours with Carla. Between that and my tips from my shows, it was looking to be a very profitable night.

I was glad that Rhissa was with me that first time with a guy. She took charge, kept him from getting too rough in his eagerness while he was plowing my fields, and made sure that he wore a condom too. She was also directly responsible for seven of the eight orgasms I had during that encounter. He was eager enough but seemed inexperienced and he didn’t know much about how to please a woman in bed.

Still, having a man fucking me satisfied me in that primal way, and Rhissa was doing her best to make sure I enjoyed myself. I did my best to return the favor, of course, and in doing so, I learned that Sukoha was right. Rhissa really did make the most adorable noises when she was close to orgasm, these cute little moans that made me want to put everything I learned earlier about pleasing a woman to the test and make her moan even more.

It was almost eleven thirty by the time Rhissa and I had collected our payment, cleaned up a bit, and put our shares of the cash in our lockboxes, giggling all the while about how eager he had been to fuck an actual schoolgirl as we did the latter. I felt closer to her somehow, just like I did with Sukoha, now that we had these shared experiences and little inside jokes that were just between us. It was a good first night, and I was a happy and very satisfied Nymph as I fell asleep.

Tuesday morning, I checked my lockbox before breakfast and there was close to seventeen hundred dollars left there after Mom and Pandora took the club’s thirty percent. Last night was a very good night between my group sessions with Sukoha and Rhissa, but I knew that not all nights would be like that one. Even Rhissa said that it was such a good night for me because I was the new girl, and she had milked that for every penny she could with that guy we had the threesome with.

Still, I could probably expect to make at least a couple of hundred dollars a night if the club was doing good business, and more if I was giving extra services like last night. While the thick wad of cash in my hands was very pleasing and comforting though, I couldn’t help but think that it could end up being a problem if I kept getting paid this way. I would have to make regular deposits at the bank at this rate, and I was a little concerned that they might think something fishy was up if I was regularly making large deposits of cash.

I would rather avoid suspicion, and any unwanted attention that might come along with it. A girl with as many secrets as I had to keep needed to be careful to stay under the radar, and my looks made it difficult enough to avoid attention as it was. So, as we ate breakfast, I turned to Mom and Pandora to enquire, “Would it be possible to get some sort of direct deposit to my bank account set up? I mean, all that cash is nice, but it’s a bit much for carrying around money and I don’t want my bank getting suspicious because I deposit huge amounts of cash every other day.”

My query got a smile from Mom and Pandora and giggles from every entertainer at the club. It was Mom who answered though. “Of course, we can do that, Snowflake. Only the part-time dancers ever really decide to take cash. All the part-timers who get regular wages get direct deposit, as does everyone here. It’s just sort of a tradition for all of us entertainers to get our first night’s pay in cash.”

“Yeah, it makes the fact that you’re making a shit ton of money more real that way,” Krysti interjected with a foxlike grin. “We all heard what a good night you had last night, by the way. Congrats, you’re officially one of us now.”

That was met with each of the dancers, even Calliope who was still training, to raise a glass to toast to my new status. Stella looked toward Calliope and added, “And we’ll have you ready to join our ranks soon too, Calli.”

Pandora was smiling as she nodded and explained, “Tiffani and I make notes of what all of us entertainers make each night anyway, when we do the nightly counts, so the club gets its share. We have a logbook to keep track of it all, and every two weeks we just add everything up for each of us and enter it into the payroll program when we do the accounting to calculate and pay out the wages for all the other staff. We’ll add your account information tonight, if you’d like, Crystal. It really doesn’t make much difference to us to add your nightly stack of cash to all the others going into our morning bank deposit and it’s expected for a club like this to make large daily deposits of cash.”

With that decision and explanation made, we got back to what was important, eating breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day, after all. As for last night’s huge payday, that would be going into my purse so I could deposit a large portion of it into my account after school, and I would keep a bit of it for spending cash.

The next couple of days at school were quiet and passed mostly without incident, at least until Wednesday afternoon. Delilah and her friends were keeping to her part of the deal and leaving me and my friends alone, but I couldn’t be sure if that was because she feared Mallory’s threat to call her parents if she didn’t or feared me becoming directly involved in making her miserable again. Honestly, it was probably a little bit of both.

From what I could tell in Art class on Wednesday morning, Delilah was looking healthier and was likely over her cold or soon would be. She also hadn’t relaxed her guard in the slightest, even though I was pretty sure none of my friends had taken the opportunity to mess with her yet. That changed during lunch when she let out a pained yelp and jumped out of her seat in the cafeteria just after sitting down a couple of tables away from us with her minions.

From the smug look that Bella had on her face, I suspected that the Metal Mage had something to do with this as Delilah whirled to look at her seat. My suspicions were confirmed as the fiery redhead giggled and whispered, “I wonder how those thumbtacks could have gotten on her chair,” causing everyone at our table to start giggling and earning a furious glare from Delilah.

The Fire Mage sat down in a huff and snatched up her fork to start eating her salad, only it was now securely stuck to the spoon for her soup, and she couldn’t use either properly. Bella looked more pleased with herself by the minute as Delilah got up and stomped off to retrieve new utensils. I noticed that she carefully checked the seat of her chair before sitting this time and frowned at her now unstuck utensils sitting to the side of her tray before glaring in our direction again. Bella didn’t even bother trying to look innocent, she just looked right at the Fire Mage and grinned.

She wasn’t the only one grinning, or getting her licks in, because Trixie quickly got in on it too. No sooner had Bella started to innocently eat her meal and pointedly ignore both Delilah and her glares than the half-Fey started looking very intently at our frustrated enemy as she once again attempted to stab at her salad with a fork. Every time Delilah did so, the salad violently expelled itself from her fork before it could even reach her mouth, making a mess and frustrating Delilah even further.

That was a nice use of Wood magic, usually people just used it to make plants grow or to control living plants, but it could be used to manipulate vegetation in general as well, just like I would with Ice or Bella did with Metal. I was just watching and grinning alongside my sister and our girlfriends as I wondered who was going to pull something next, and what. It seemed like Delilah was thinking, or rather worrying about, the same thing since she gave her hot soup a wary glance before pushing her tray away from her and casting a look of disgust in our direction.

Even when opening her bottle of water, Delilah was being cautious now, pointing it carefully away from her as she removed the cap. Only once she seemed sure that the liquid inside wasn’t moving suspiciously did she take a very careful sip. The fluid erupted from the bottle as soon as it touched her lips, leaving her sputtering, coughing, and wet. Okay, that had to be either Nikki or Nova, but my money was on Nikki from the way that the Mermaid was grinning as Delilah shot up from her seat and stormed out of the cafeteria.

“Serves her right,” Clarice said as she watched her go. “She’s been making us miserable since we all started here in eighth grade, it’s about time me and Trixie started getting some payback. Is it just me or were her hands dirty?”

Rose, who was sitting as close to my sister as school rules would allow and holding hands with her under the table, laughed and said in a low, conspiratorial whisper, “Oh, that’s shoe polish. I slipped out of Math class to use the ladies’ room and, wouldn’t you know, it took me right by the bitch’s locker. I covered the back of her lock in the stuff and, believe me, it’s a pain in the ass to wash off.”

Jess grinned at her girlfriend and probably would have kissed her then and there if there hadn’t been teachers watching our table since Delilah left the cafeteria. “Nice, you’re so sexy when you’re devious. Mallory and I have plans for her in Home Economics tomorrow,” she said quietly.

“I’ll take my shot tomorrow too,” Clarice added casually but quietly enough not to be overheard by anyone who was not at our table.

“What do you all have planned?” I asked as I looked at the three of them suspiciously.

“Nuh-uh, remember that you didn’t want to know about any of this beforehand, Sis,” Jess chastised. “If you don’t know, you can honestly say that you weren’t involved in any of it and have kept to your side of the bargain.”

Her Efreeti cohort just grinned and said, “Just remember my payment for getting involved. You promised to share your half of the batch of fudge you and Crystal make tomorrow with me.”

We had Auto Shop for our final class of the day, and it was nice to get some work done on our project vehicles. It was the perfect end to a very good day at school, honestly. My friends still wouldn’t let me in on their plans until after they bore fruit though. It was leaving me anxious and eager, and I couldn’t wait to see what they pulled. If lunch earlier was any indication, things were looking to be very entertaining until lunch on Friday.

That night marked my third night working at the club, and I was starting to become a lot more at ease with my job, both on stage and in the bedroom. I was busy, but my life was starting to fall into a comfortable pattern. I was making good money too, even if I was only working part-time right now.

The next couple of days continued the pattern where I was busy but happy and my sister, girlfriend, and other friends at school were definitely picking up the slack on making Delilah’s school life as miserable as she had made ours. I didn’t get to see even half of the pranks they were pulling on her, but what I did see over those two days was wildly entertaining. All of it fell within the terms that the headmistress had set as well, nothing that would ‘damage’ school property or personal property.

Well, there was the fudge incident, which definitely might have been pushing it a little bit. For Home Ec. on Thursday, our first class of the day, we were all making chocolate fudge and Delilah was definitely on her guard since she was partnered with Mallory still. She was keeping a very careful eye on their ingredients and everything they were doing.

Mallory told me later that she figured Delilah would be on guard because she knew her well enough to know that her weak spot was chocolate. Who could blame her, good chocolate is almost as good as ice cream or sex, and don’t get me started on ice cream with chocolate. Anyway, all it took was a moment of distraction for Mallory to make a small addition to the chocolate mixture that they were currently stirring and melting that wasn’t in the recipe.

My sister gladly provided that distraction by stealthily calling Mallory’s phone, which Mallory had changed the ringtone of to the one Delilah had on her phone. As Delilah scrambled to grab her purse (conveniently placed by Mallory’s) and the phone inside, Mallory added the special ingredient from her pocket and continued stirring. She was just in time too, as Delilah turned her attention back to her as she snatched up her purse and reached inside just as the ringtone stopped playing and Mallory’s muffled phone went quiet as my sister disconnected the call.

Of course, Mallory had to seem happy to take her share of the laxative-laden chocolate sweets if she didn’t want to give away the game. As long as we kept it labeled and no one ate more than a piece or two at a time though, and spaced out appropriately, they would be fine for consumption. Worst case scenario, we had sweets for anyone who was feeling irregular.

Poor Jess was having trouble acting normally as Delilah and Mallory taste-tested their hard work just before class ended, and she’s an actress. Mallory probably had it harder though since she had to convince Delilah that there was nothing wrong with their product. It was a sacrifice Mallory was willing to make since one piece wouldn’t hurt and it did taste very good. She told us afterward that hearing Delilah practically moaning in pleasure as she ate her first piece was well worth the trouble she and Jess had gone through to make it work.

The prank that Clarice played on Delilah during gym class next period was probably far less delicious. We played basketball, and Delilah and I were team captains again. Clarice was one of the first I chose because she’s fast, agile, and one hell of a jumper, and while the rest of the teams were being picked, Clarice switched Delilah’s bottle of fancy bottled water with an identical bottle that was filled with vinegar.

I laughed so hard I almost started crying at the look on her face as she spat the liquid all over the floor after sitting down to take a break and a long pull at the bottle mid-game. Of course, that meant that I was the prime suspect when Mrs. Shaw tried to find out who was responsible, but I was honestly able to say, even when asked directly, that while I might have found the result hilarious, I didn’t do it. I also clearly stated that I didn’t know who did it, nor did I have any knowledge that anyone had planned to do it.

She suspected Clarice or Melody since they were the only non-Fey of my group in the class and could lie easier when questioned than the rest of us, but neither would admit to it, even when they were both punished by having to run laps for the rest of the period. They both thought it was worth seeing Delilah spitting up vinegar and they both had enough stamina that running laps didn’t really bother them anyway. My girlfriend wasn’t entirely innocent anyway since she got her digs in after class by using one of my tricks and sucking all the heat out of her water halfway through Delilah’s shower. I couldn’t be blamed either since I wasn’t in the showers when it happened.

Even Alison contributed to the chaos with a prank when she went out to the parking lot during lunch to ‘get something she forgot in her car’ for her next class. She had parked her car so that Delilah’s was positioned between it and the security camera that it was within view of and sneakily poured red food coloring in the nozzles that sprayed wiper fluid onto the Cube’s windshield. When she tried to use her wipers to remove built-up snow and ice after school on Thursday, Delilah got an interesting, and somewhat disturbing, surprise.

When I wasn’t in school or working, which wasn’t very much over those two days, I tried to spend as much time as I could with my girlfriend, my sister, my daughter, and even my Salamander body-buddy when I could manage it. I was very proud of Cinder’s progress. My cute little Salamander was edging closer to the beginning of true communication every day, she could stay outside of my body for close to ten minutes now, and I thought that she was close to being able to summon her flames as well.

My fourth night at the club was a quiet and fairly slow one, I only gave extra services to one patron that night and I got to show off my pole dancing skills a bit more, which I was happy about. Mom told me that Wednesdays and Thursdays were usually fairly quiet though and I could expect to be a lot busier on Friday and Saturday, when I was working until closing instead of getting off (no pun intended) at eleven o’clock. Still, I was enjoying my job and was feeling pretty good about my life between that and being out of Delilah’s crosshairs for the week.

Friday morning, there were a few more small and annoying pranks played on Delilah that the others told me about when we had Auto Shop second period. Even Carmen had managed to get in on the action, but most of their pranks that morning were small things that were more distracting and annoying for Delilah than really disruptive. Though I had to admit the worms that Carmen and Nova put in her locker were entertaining. I had heard her scream from the other end of the main hall. Where did they even get their hands on worms in the middle of winter?

As entertaining as my friends were making these couple of days for me (and miserable for Delilah), I was a little disappointed that my deal with my school nemesis prevented me from joining in the fun. By Friday at lunch, when our deal was officially finished, Delilah was looking particularly paranoid as I strode over to her table and tried not to smile as she followed my every step with wide eyes. “Delilah, our deal is now concluded. Should you wish to strike any other bargains in the future please let me know and we can discuss the terms.”

Delilah gave me a conflicted look, like she wasn’t sure whether to feel anger, fear, or trepidation as she as much demanded as asked, “So, it’s over then? You and your friends will stop messing with me now?”

“What my friends do is up to them, I am not their keeper,” I replied with a shrug. “I still owe you the long price though, unless you want to extend our bargain or make a new one.”

For a moment, it looked like she was going to take me up on that, but it was written all over her face the instant that she mentally dug her heels in and cast that brief moment of sense aside. There was so much anger and hate there, directed at me, and I knew that this did not bode well for the future. I had made a fool of her, she already hated me before that, and she would never even admit to herself that she might have deserved what she got after the way that she had treated all of us.

She wasn’t going to learn from this, she was going to double down. Every prank played on her, and even my offer of another deal was only so much kindling to stoke the flames of her fury. Things were going to escalate from here until people got burned. Delilah was a Fire Mage after all, and she embodied the element of Fire more than anyone I had ever met.

She was willing to burn everything and everyone around her to get her way, prone to unthinking fury, and wanted nothing more than to burn the target of that fury until nothing remained but ashes. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be in the literal sense, but I wouldn’t put it past her with how angry she looked. I should have known better, how could I expect her to learn from her mistakes when she thought the world revolved around her and she could do no wrong?

I didn’t wait for her reply; I didn’t need to. Her decision was already made, and I couldn’t help but think that I was partially to blame for that by allowing this to go on. No, she was a big girl; she started this, she made her own decisions, and right now she was choosing not to learn her lesson.

So, I guessed that we were back to how things were before, with her willing to do whatever it took to make me suffer and me unwilling to give an inch. I couldn’t afford to give an inch, because if I did, she wouldn’t just take a mile, she would destroy that mile to get to me and everything and everyone I held dear. Unstoppable fiery force, meet the immovable icy object.

I returned to my table, where my friends waited, and sighed as I quietly told them, “She hasn’t learned a damn thing. Everyone needs to be careful from now on, I didn’t like the look I saw in her eyes. She’s going to up the ante in a big way. Nobody walks through the halls alone, if possible. Stick to the buddy system and watch each other’s backs.”

“Well, shit,” Mallory grumbled as she looked toward Delilah’s table and her former friend glaring back at us balefully. “Yeah, I recognize that look, girls. It’s her ‘I’m going to do something insanely stupid and everyone around me is gonna burn’ look. It seems like shit is about to get real.”

For the rest of lunch, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Delilah was planning something bad, something big from which there would be no going back. The looks she was giving us from her table were murderous and she wasn’t exactly a shining example of good impulse control. I was the one receiving most of those looks too, probably because she blamed me and my bargain for everything, as if she didn’t hate me enough before.

I didn’t think she was going to set me on fire while we were on school property or anything, even she likely had more self-control than that. No, she was planning something, and Delilah’s plans could only be bad for me. Perhaps I should have had the others go easier on her the past few days, though I didn’t think anyone did anything that was truly heinous, at least not in comparison to how she had bullied my friends over the years.

It was only natural that they would want to get some payback, especially Trixie who was Fey and had been putting up with it for four years. Rose and my sister were both Fey as well and neither was the type to take the abuse that Delilah, and her friends, had been dishing out since we started school here. As for the others, they were all teenagers being offered a chance to get back at their biggest bully. Honestly, I was surprised, and proud of them all for keeping the pranks to minor annoyances and mild embarrassment. What they did was nothing compared to how she had been trying to humiliate and ruin me for the past few weeks.

Our next class after lunch was P.E. and other than constantly murderous glaring, Delilah didn’t try to pull anything. By the time that classes ended for the day, I was starting to feel a bit paranoid about what she might be up to. I wasn’t the only one worried either, we all were. Mallory, who best knew what Delilah was capable of when angry, was the most nervous of any of us.

The only positive was that since we were now heading into the weekend, I probably wouldn’t have to worry about her making good on whatever plan she was concocting until Monday. Unless, of course, she decided to attack me at my home again. Fantastic, now I was going to be worrying about that all weekend.

We all stuck together as a group as we made our way to the parking lot and our vehicles. Alison, Clarice, and I were all tense, fearing that Delilah might torch our rides. With the looks of fury she had been giving us, and me in particular, I was rightfully fearing that she would go against the wishes of her father and make the Charger a target again. When I saw that all of our rides were safe, sound, and in the same condition as they were when we parked this morning, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Soon we were all on our way to our respective homes with my sister, Melody, Carmen, and Mallory all riding with me in the Charger. Mallory was riding to and from school with us every day now since she was living above the club now and wasn’t working at the café anymore. On Monday, Mom and Pandora talked with Clarice’s father, Raul, and they came to an agreement.

Mallory would start working at the club when she turned eighteen in a couple of weeks while one of the club’s part-time line cooks, who was looking for a full-time position, would take over her position at Raul’s Café. It honestly worked out pretty well for everyone since Mallory and her mother were no longer in such a dire financial situation where they desperately needed the extra money. Mallory could be close to home and safe working in the club while getting training from Brock and Cindy, Raul got the full-time cook that he wanted to take some of the heat off him in the café, the cook got a full-time gig, and Clarice wouldn’t have to drive Mallory to and from work until she had a car of her own.

As we drove home, I asked the Efreeti in the back seat, “Do you have any idea what Delilah might be up to? Those death glares she was giving me all through gym class were giving me chills.”

Mallory let out a long and deep sigh and I could see her shaking her head despondently through the rearview mirror. “Sorry, Crystal, at this point I have no idea what she might try. Ever since you, Jess, and your friends showed up at school, she’s been erratic. Before you showed up, she was the prettiest and most popular girl at the school, though being obscenely wealthy was responsible for a lot of that popularity and she follows a very strict routine to maintain and improve her beauty.”

“Then we come in with a set of twins who are far better looking than she is,” Melody interjected with a grim expression. “They get attention in any room they walk into, especially if they’re together. She probably viewed Crystal as the greater threat to her status because Jess is a shapeshifter, while Crystal’s beauty is all natural.”

“Yeah, Delilah is jealous, petty, and her ego won’t let her play second fiddle to anyone. She figured that the only way to go back to the status quo was to get Crystal to leave the school and hopefully take Jess with her. Up until the incident with her car, I could usually have a pretty good idea about how she was going to act in most situations but her jealousy and hostility toward Crystal have made her increasingly unstable, especially since none of you would just back down and take her abuse like everyone else,” Mallory offered.

Carmen’s voice grumbled from the seat behind me, “Not only are we not taking her shit, but we’ve gotten the other girls in Auto Shop to take a stand too. Crystal has been countering her at every turn and turning her plots back on her as well.”

“Yeah, and that’s not helping the other damage Crystal has done to her ego by just being at school in the first place,” the Efreeti explained before frowning again. “She also probably thinks that you turned me against her. I think, in her own way, she actually considered me a friend, she’s just used to being in control and using other people.”

I rolled my eyes as stopped us at a red light and muttered, “Ah yes, because this is all my fault for having the nerve to exist and for being such a bitch to her.”

“Never mind the fact that she brought all this on herself by being her ‘charming’ self,” my sister added acidly.

“She won’t see it that way, Jess” Mallory countered. “Biting sarcasm aside, Crystal is right. Delilah’s ego won’t let her admit that she’s done anything wrong, even to herself, so in her mind, she’s the victim here and we’re all out to get her. So, now she’s acting like a wounded animal that we’ve backed into a corner. That look in her eyes today, it’s like she’s running on pure fury and spite now, and I have no idea what she’ll do next.”

“I’ve seen that look before,” Melody offered sadly. “There was this newly Manifested Metal Mage, he went mad with power and killed some people, so the PDA sent Hunters after him and posted an offer for people like me. I got to him first, there was a fight, and I showed him that he wasn’t as powerful as he thought he was. He had that look in his eyes when he built up his final attack, that look that says, ‘I don’t care if I go down, as long as I take you with me.’ His attack shredded everything within thirty feet of us and flayed most of the flesh from his bones because he was too angry to control himself. I regenerated, he wasn’t so lucky, and I got to claim the reward for bringing in his corpse.”

I put the car back in gear and eased onto the gas as Carmen asked, “What, so you think she’s gone crazy, Mel? Well, crazier.”

My demonic girlfriend in the seat beside mine shook her head as she explained, “No, I just think she’s getting desperate, and desperate people do dangerous things, not always thinking about their own safety.”

If there was any mood in the vehicle other than worried at that moment, it would have been killed then and there. A morose silence fell over us all as I drove us home until we were nearly at the club. That’s when Mallory let out a lengthy sigh, pulled her phone from her purse, and said, “I’m calling Delilah’s parents. I might not consider her a friend anymore, but her parents deserve to know that she may have finally snapped. Maybe they can head this off and keep her from doing something stupid.”

Friday and Saturday nights were busy at the club, so busy that weekend that I managed to lose some of my worries as I focused on dancing and giving extra services when time permitted. I was making plenty of money, and having plenty of sex, so I was a relatively happy Nymph. At least I was until Delilah’s father came to the club on that Saturday night, not long before closing.

I had just gotten off-stage for my final show of the night and was negotiating a possible group session with some club patrons and the Dicken sisters when he approached the table with Pandora. I was glad Mom was giving extra services right now or this might feel more awkward than it already felt when I saw who was accompanying Pandora, and that they were heading straight for me. This couldn’t be good.

I had to revise that thought as they got close enough for me to see the look of concern on the face of Delilah’s father. He looked worried, not like he was here for some fun and entertainment. If he was showing up here, looking like that, this definitely wasn’t good. I quickly and apologetically excused myself from the negotiations and Pandora gave a nearly imperceptible nod of approval as I joined them before leading us to a somewhat private booth.

“Mr. Devereaux,” I started awkwardly, “is there something you need me for?”

The first time that we met he was furious, first with me and then with his daughter when I unveiled the truth about what was done to our respective vehicles. This time though, his expression was that of a very worried father as he asked, “Crystal… has Delilah contacted you? I talked to Mallory on the phone, but she hasn’t heard from her, and she said you were working… so I came here to ask you if you or any of your other friends have heard from her since school yesterday.”

I blinked in confusion even as a heavy weight dropped into the pit of my stomach at the anxious look in his eyes. “Why would she contact any of us? Even if she did have any of our phone numbers, we’re not exactly her favorite people right now.”

“I… it was a long shot, but I had to at least try,” he said with a sigh as he all but collapsed into his seat. “When Mallory called us after school yesterday, I hoped that she might just need some time on her own to cool off, she’s got my temper and Mallory said she was angry. She… didn’t come home last night. We’ve had people from both the mundane police and the PDA searching for her, but they haven’t found her, just her vehicle at West Edmonton Mall.”

Well, fuck. Either Delilah was really going all out and trying to frame me for her kidnapping and/or murder, or something had actually happened to her. Honestly, I couldn’t see Delilah conceiving such a plan though, so it was likely the latter. She had been pretty damn pissed yesterday, and we all thought it might make her do something stupid that would bite her in the ass. The big questions were, what did she do, and where was she now?

As much as I would have liked to think this wasn’t my problem, in fact, it might have just solved my problem, I just wasn’t that kind of person. Delilah was a bitch sure, but she was also a person, and she had parents who were obviously worried about her. Still, I didn’t think there was anything I could do. “Can’t you, like, track her phone?” I asked.

“We tried that, and we tried phoning and texting her, but it says her number is out of service,” Mr. Devereaux replied morosely before standing back up. “I need to go… maybe they’ve found something on the mall security footage. Please, contact me if you hear anything.”

“I will, but I’m probably the last person on earth she wants to talk to,” I told him even as he strode back toward the club entrance. I watched him until he got there and muttered, “What the fuck?”

“It’s probably a kidnapping, I imagine he’ll be hearing from somebody about a ransom soon,” Pandora said thoughtfully. “This doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with you, Crystal. Steven is a wealthy and influential man in this city, and he’s made enemies among both the Paranormal and normie population.”

“I suppose that’s possible,” I murmured pensively. Still, the timing felt too coincidental. Could Delilah be faking her own kidnapping for some reason? No, that didn’t feel right either. She was pissed and so far, most of her actions against me were just typical bullying or quick plans of convenience to try to turn something that already happened against me. Planning something like this would be premeditated, and that didn’t fit what I’d seen from Delilah so far, especially a pissed off Delilah.

“Try not to worry, Crystal. There probably isn’t anything you can do right now anyway,” Pandora told me gently. I was about to say that I wasn’t worried about that bitch when an arched eyebrow and a gentle squeeze of my hand stopped me as she interjected, “It’s okay to be concerned for her, Crystal. I realize that the two of you have been at odds, but she’s still a person who you know, and that probably makes this a little jarring for you, especially given the timing of this.”

“She wouldn’t worry about me,” I told her candidly, believing every word.

“Maybe not,” she agreed, “but that’s part of what makes you a good person. It’s probably a good idea to be careful until she turns up again though. Maybe you should drive the truck when you go to school, at least until Delilah shows up or we have some sort of word about what happened to her. Your car gets too much attention.”

“Yeah, maybe that’s a good idea,” I agreed. I couldn’t shake the idea that this was more than just a disappearance and that Delilah had more to do with it than just disappearing, even if I was maybe a little, tiny bit worried that Pandora might be right. Keeping a low profile for a bit probably couldn’t hurt.

Pandora nodded and her gaze fell upon the table where the three younger Succubae were looking my way, along with the men we’d been talking to. “It looks like you were in the middle of something. Are you still feeling up to the group session? I can always take your place if you’re not.”

“No, I’ll be fine,” I countered. “It’s not like I can do anything about whatever this thing with Delilah is, and I’ll probably sleep better once I’ve scratched my itch and tired myself out.”

If I went upstairs now, I would just start overthinking things, and Melody was probably tired after a full shift so we wouldn’t end up doing more than talking and cuddling and I would probably bring this crap up and ruin the mood anyway. So, I went back to join the triplets and our clients, finished our negotiations, and had some amazing sex until their time was up. Only once I was cleaned up afterward did I go back upstairs and to my room, where thankfully, I was too tired to do anything more than fall asleep.

Monday and Tuesday were weird without Delilah at school, it was uncharacteristically quiet and yet there was this nervous tension that clung to me and my friends like an unseen miasma of dread. There was still no news about her, at least not that I’d heard about and each day that she was missing only made me more certain that something was seriously wrong. By the time that classes ended on Tuesday, we were all seriously on edge when we climbed into the club’s truck.

Alison and Clarice were already gone with their passengers, but we were running late. Unfortunately, my period had started today and in addition to the anxiety of the Delilah situation, I was also completely miserable due to the severe cramps and had to change both my tampon and panty liner after classes were over. I was probably going to have to take the next few nights off work over this too, so that wasn’t making me very happy either.

Making matters worse, I wasn’t able to use my pain relief spell for fear of someone other than my magic teacher catching me using Divine magic at school, so I had to suffer through the discomfort that Midol was doing nothing to ease until we got home. With that in mind, Jess was driving the truck today so I wouldn’t drive us off the road in a sudden fit of pain. My bad day was about to get a lot worse though.

We were almost at the end of the access road that connected the school to the street when I felt something ahead of us. Magic, it felt like Earth maybe. I didn’t even get to call out a warning to my sister before the ground erupted ahead of the truck and a wall of dirt and stone blocked our path. Jess slammed her foot down on the brakes, but we were too close, and in an instant, the front end of the truck crumpled, and my face slammed into the deployed airbag. In my dazed state, as I tried to shake off what just happened, I heard unfamiliar voices shouting.

“Move it! Tranq them all and get the Nymph and the Efreeti, they’re the valuable ones!”

“Shit, the Demon is in play, take her down!”

The sound of gunshots started to bring me to my senses when I felt something being jabbed into my arm and another voice, snapped, “Which Nymph? There’s two of them!”

“Well, fucking grab them both, morons! Move it! Before someone else comes down this fucking road! Get them in the…” That was the last thing that I heard before I passed out.

I woke up on a cold, hard surface with a massive headache and a smorgasbord of new aches and pains to add to the horrible cramps from my period. I had a very bad feeling about this, given what I thought I heard before losing consciousness, so for the moment I remained still and kept my breathing steady, feigning sleep as I listened and tried to figure out my current situation. What I figured out was not comforting.

I mean, I already suspected that the situation wasn’t good. If it was, then I wouldn’t be hurting all over because Dr. Diaz and Mom would have taken care of any injuries, so just the fact that I hurt all over was telling, but at least it didn’t feel like anything was broken. There was also the fact that I seemed to be naked and felt something hard and uncomfortable encircling my neck.

Usually, being naked would make me more comfortable, but I hadn’t been the one to take my clothes off and that combined with the weight around my neck, and what I could hear and smell, wasn’t reassuring in the least. Wherever I was, it smelled strongly of dust, mildew, blood, and old sweat. The only thing I could hear was two other people breathing, one steady and probably asleep while the other was steady as well, but shallow and deliberate, possibly someone who was trying to remain calm in a bad situation, just like I was.

With my magic sense, I could detect plenty of magic. It was all around me, first on whatever was around my neck, two other similar enchantments close by, something faint somewhere to my right, and a far more powerful source of Divine magic. Wherever I was being held, they had some very powerful wards around the building, at least, I assumed it was a building from what I was sensing.

I opened my eyes and tried to move, every ache and pain protesting that decision. The room was dim and blurry to my eyes at first and the sound of my groaning summoned my conscious companion to my side. It took a moment for the blurry image to take the form of a familiar face, a very familiar face, the one that I now saw in the mirror every day, right down to the pointed elven ears.

No bunny ears, and for a moment that left me a little confused and wondering just how hard I had hit my head. “Jess?” I asked, my voice slightly raspy.

My sister nodded, a relieved but shaky smile gracing her face, which was now completely identical to mine in every way. “Yeah, it’s me, Sis,” she whispered. “The last thing I remember was panicking when I heard someone talking about grabbing you after we crashed, and I woke up like this. So, the good news is that I think I’m finally over my shapeshifting block.”

“And the bad news?” I asked, even though I was already pretty sure that I knew what that was.

Jessica’s reply was not in the least reassuring. “We’re naked and in some dank dungeon. Mallory is here too, but she’s still unconscious. They must have put these collars on us right after knocking us out, or I would have shifted back to my bunny form in my sleep. Given the collars to prevent magic use, our current situation, and how organized our attackers were, I’m gonna guess we were nabbed by the Chimera Syndicate.”

“Fucking lovely,” I muttered, not that it wasn’t what I had been expecting myself. I was just hoping to not have it confirmed and let out a long sigh before speaking quietly once again. “I figured as much. Any idea how long we’ve been here?”

“No clue,” my sister replied with a frown and a shake of her head. “I woke up not long before you did. I’m guessing that we’ve been out for at least a couple of hours. You’re smelling pretty strongly of blood, and I know you changed your tampon right before we left the school.”

I nodded grimly since, again, it was not unexpected. Whoever undressed us hadn’t removed my tampon, I could still feel it inside me, but I was pretty sure that it was soaked through, and I could feel warm liquid dribbling down my thighs. That, and the thought of all the bruises and scrapes I could feel on me were giving my poor Nymph vanity a beating.

My mood was not improved any when I tried to heal myself and couldn’t reach the magic inside me, like there was something blocking it, and the same went for trying to teleport to the Fire Plane. It was as I expected, given that my sister couldn’t shapeshift either, but it was definitely disappointing. There was one last thing that I could think to try, but I wanted a better idea of where we were and to make sure we weren’t being monitored first.

I had no doubt that Mom and Pandora were probably already organizing some sort of rescue attempt, and that Carmilla was probably ready to tear our captors limb from limb. Those wards were probably going to keep them from being able to teleport to our location though, if Melody and Carmen were in any shape to do so. I had no idea what happened to my girlfriend and Carmen when we were attacked, but I assumed that if they were in any condition to be able to reach us through teleportation, they would have done so while we were in transit or prevented our capture altogether in the first place.

That caused an uncomfortable ache in my heart as I worried about both of them, but focusing on that wouldn’t help our situation right now, even if we could do anything for them. Hopefully, they were both okay, but our rescuers would have to track us down the hard way now and, while they did have a secret weapon, that could take a while. In the meantime, I should probably try to figure out an escape plan of my own in case they tried to move us before our rescuers could arrive.

I took a look around once Jess helped me get to my feet and tried to ignore the warm liquid running slowly down my thighs. She was right about us being in a dungeon, and it wasn’t the fun kind. We were in a three-meter square room that seemed to be made completely of stone, and the only exit was a thick-looking metal door that muffled any sound coming from outside. I thought that I could faintly hear a girl screaming when I put my ear to the door, but the sound was too faint for me to be certain.

I couldn’t see any cameras or other electronic devices, nor could I feel any enchantments other than those powerful wards, the collars around our necks, and the single stone in the wall that had been enchanted to provide the faint light in the room. There was no furniture whatsoever either, unless you included a rancid-smelling bucket in the corner. The only other thing of note in the cell was close to a dozen thick metal rings embedded in the ceiling and the floor alongside three of the walls with steel chains attached to manacles connected to them.

By the time that I finished my check of the room, Mallory was beginning to stir, and Jess went to check on her. I heard the Efreeti groaning, followed by a confused, “Crystal?”

“Sort of, but not quite,” my sister replied with a laugh. “It’s Jess, Crystal is over there.”

Fairly certain that we weren’t being monitored, I let Jess explain the situation while I focused my thoughts inward. “Cinder?” I could still feel her presence so I was hoping that the collar would only block out my abilities. If Cinder could still materialize in her physical form, we might have a chance here. “I need you to try to leave my body.”

I could feel her focus shift to me immediately after my query as a flood of relief, fear, and fury at our captors hit me all at once. What surprised me most though was the single hesitant word in a feminine and child-like mind voice. ~ Try. ~ It was her first real focused thought beyond the emotions that I usually felt from her, and it brought tears to my eyes.

She didn’t just try though, she succeeded as my Salamander mark flared and her physical body took its place, perched on my arm and nuzzling my skin. It didn’t even seem to strain her any more than usual, so these collars probably weren’t made with symbiotic Fire Elementals in mind. “That’s my good girl,” I told her with a misty-eyed smile as I gently stroked her tiny head and wings with a finger. “I need you to practice stoking a flame now, sweet baby. I know you haven’t been able to do it yet, but I believe in you.”

Cinder tried, and I could sense that she was so very close, until five minutes later we heard a rattling at the door from the lock being worked. Cinder once more flared, returning to my body to hide from sight. We couldn’t let her be discovered if we wanted to have our chance of escape, so I breathed a sigh of relief as she vanished, and her energy once again infused me, seconds before the door opened with the creak of rusty hinges.

The door opened to reveal a human man, probably an Earth Mage from the magic I sensed on him. He was tall with tanned skin, dark brown hair, and a goatee and he wore a dark suit. Two trolls were right on his heels, dragging a sobbing and naked young blonde woman, who they tossed roughly into the cell once he had stepped aside. Once the trolls stepped back to hover in the doorway behind him and prevent any escape attempts, the man gave us a smile that I didn’t like at all.

This tracked with what Calliope had been able to tell us about the Chimera Syndicate. They were mostly run by human Mages who were selfish bastards and didn’t want to play nice with other Paranormals when they could profit from them, usually by selling things they needed via the back market or selling rare Paranormals as slaves. They hired Trolls and some of the other really nasty Paranormals for muscle, but sometimes kept particularly useful slaves, like Mallory’s mother, for themselves to work for them and/or to breed more of.

He hadn’t said anything yet, giving us time to look at our new cellmate. She had been roughed up, she had bruises all over her, including one side of her face being swollen and hosting a black eye, and she collapsed where she had been thrown in a sobbing heap. Fury filled me as I saw the blood and semen all over her thighs and leaking from between her legs. Oh, I knew exactly who she was, even with the bruises covering her face, there was no mistaking that it was Delilah, but her condition and that sick smile on the bastard’s face made me seethe. Not even Delilah deserved what they had done to her.

“Del!” Mallory was beside her as soon as she realized who it was, trying to comfort her sobbing former friend.

“How touching,” the man snorted “Maybe you should worry about yourselves instead of the whore who sold you out though. Can you believe she came looking for us? And she actually thought that the Chimera Syndicate would let her go after she told us about you. I can think of a lot of people who would pay top dollar for Steven Deveraux’s girl. Far more than we’d ever get for ransoming her, and yet, not nearly as much as we’ll get for a pair of Snow Nymph twins who can live in a city. The bitch held out on us and didn’t even tell us there were two of you.”

“Fucking bastard!” Mallory spat, seething with fury as she looked up from trying to soothe Delilah.

“Don’t worry, we have uses for you too. Maybe we can keep you all together at one of our whorehouses, at least until someone puts a kid in you.” Then he turned his attention on me and Jess to add, “You two will soon be getting all the sex you could ever want, whether we sell you or whore you out ourselves. Maybe I’ll get a little taste for myself before we...”

I interrupted his monologue, my tone frosty and very controlled as I forced out the words, “What is your name?”

“I wouldn’t give it to a slave like you. You can call me Master; it’ll be good practice for you,” he said with a snort.

“Suit yourself,” I told him icily. “I just wanted to know what should be put on your tombstone.”

The fucker laughed, not that I hadn’t expected it. “Who’s going to kill me? You? That worthless prick, Devereaux? I don’t think you quite understand the situation you’re in, you fucking bimbo.”

My reply was a swift, “Nope. I wasn’t talking about me or Delilah’s father and I’m pretty sure it’s you who has no idea how incredibly, epically screwed you are. Someone is coming for us, and you’ll be lucky if she only tears you limb from limb.”

“Are you talking about that Demon bitch that was with you? We filled her with Holy-enchanted lead. She’s not coming for you or anyone,” he informed me with another laugh.

Fear for Melody sent a cold shiver down my spine and made my heart skip a beat. No. I couldn’t believe that she would die so easily. “No, I’m talking about the Night Princess, and there is no place on Earth where she won’t track us down or the people who kidnapped us.”

For just an instant, I saw real worry in his eyes, but it was quickly shoved aside. “Nobody is going to find you here, and even if someone could, they would never get through the wards. You’ll be safe here until the boss decides what to do with you.”

Okay, so he wasn’t the head of this cell of the Syndicate, that was good to know. Jess beat me to the punch though as she warned, “You might want to tell ‘the boss’ that death is coming your way then. You’ve screwed with the wrong people.”

“I thought you Nymphs liked being screwed though,” he replied with a sneer. “We’ll see how hopeful you two are about your rescuers when you’ve been hanging out in here for a couple of days and you’re both begging for my dick. Get them chained up boys.”

The two massive trolls entered the room and none of us had the strength to give much resistance, especially in our current state, though Jess did give it a good try by giving one a solid kick to the nuts. Our wrists were manacled together high above our heads, so we were hanging from the rings in the ceiling, high enough that I had to stand on my tiptoes to ease the strain in my arms and shoulders. Our legs were secured far enough apart so they were spread, something that the bastard in charge told us gleefully would allow them easy access when they eventually came back to ‘sample the goods’ and keep me and Jess from trying to pleasure ourselves or each other until then.

As we hung there and they left, securing the door behind them, I tried to think about my plan to get us out of here. Delilah being here changed things and I didn’t dare release Cinder while she was conscious, let alone use Divine magic to heal us after Cinder melted my collar so we could escape. Not only was she stupid enough to search out the Chimera Syndicate in the first place, but if she thought she had any information she could use to negotiate her release, she would probably do so in an instant.

It was possible that she might side with us instead after what they did to her, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to take that chance. She looked like a broken version of her former self, not just from the physical injuries but because of the way that she just hung limply in her chains. I was still angry that she had thought to go this far though and a part of me wanted to ask, “Are you happy now? Is this the sweet vengeance you imagined?”

I couldn’t bring myself to do it though because she was suffering enough already and, even now, I wanted to try to be the better person. So, instead, I asked Mallory, “How’s she doing?”

Thankfully, the Efreeti knew who I was talking about. “I… I don’t know, Crystal. She’s stopped crying but she’s… vacant. I wasn’t able to get her to respond to me before we were all chained up, so she’s probably traumatized, but now it’s like the lights are on but nobody is home. I mean, you know her ego and this…”

She couldn’t seem to finish that sentence, but she didn’t need to. Delilah was used to thinking of herself as better than everyone else, to being in charge and having people treat her as though she was special and powerful. It had been a slap in the face when I showed up and didn’t take her shit, but this... She was beaten, raped, and I wouldn’t doubt that they had also done everything they could to make her feel worthless and used as well, to destroy that big ego of hers. To a person like Delilah, well, I had no idea how much that would mentally damage her.

“Hey, Delilah, it’s Crystal. You got us all into this mess, so could you at least talk to us?” I called out. Nothing but silence. I leaned forward as much as I could in my current position to look past my sister and Mallory, to Delilah who was the furthest away. Shit. She did not look good. Not only had she been beaten pretty badly and was wearing the same type of slave collar to prevent her from using magic, but Mallory was right. Her eyes and her expression were just… empty right now, there was no trace of the fire and fury I was used to seeing there.

The silence stretched on for I don’t know how long as my thoughts drifted from Delilah to Melody. I tried to tell myself that she was fine, the asshole was just trying to make me upset. She wouldn’t let me be captured like this if she could prevent it though, and that made the ache in my heart burn with despair and hot tears sting my eyes. What if she truly was…

“Mel will be fine,” Jess told me, looking at me intently as she seemingly read my mind and interrupted those dark thoughts. “Even if they did shoot her, she’s not a full Demon, so unless they got her somewhere fatal, she’ll probably live if help got to her in time. Yeah, she might be hurting, but I don’t think that she’d allow herself to die before coming to save our sorry asses. She loves you too much for that, Sis.”

“I… you’re right,” I replied, my voice tremulous. Melody wouldn’t let herself die to people like this, not when she wanted so strongly to keep me safe. I had to believe that while she might be down, she probably wasn’t out. She wouldn’t want me to worry about her when I could do something about our current situation either.

So, since Delilah seemed to be catatonic right now, I decided to get back to business. If I managed to get us free with Cinder’s help before help arrived, then I would make these Syndicate assholes rue the day that they targeted me and the people I cared about. And when I found that asshole who chained us up like this, and put Delilah in the state she was in, I would flash-freeze every molecule in his body one piece at a time, starting with that dick he was threatening us with.

Another brief glance toward Delilah showed that her eyes were closed and her posture more relaxed. Maybe everything had caught up with her and her body needed rest, but at least I could let Cinder out to keep working on summoning her flames. She was having trouble though, and I was a little worried that maybe she was still too young, until suddenly the entire cell brightened as she burst into flame.

“Good girl, Cinder! That’s my sweet baby!” I whispered happily as both my sister and Mallory turned to watch my Salamander with smiles that matched mine. “Now I want you to go as hot as you can manage and melt this collar off me, okay?”

I could sense the pride and affirmation in her mind, snuggled so close to mine, as she once again thought to me, ~Try.~

Cinder flew toward my throat, where she tightly gripped the collar encircling it with both her forelegs and hind legs. The growing heat warmed me but didn’t burn, thanks to our bond, but I was worried that she might have to return to my body before she could rid me of the collar. She had been out for a while this time while trying to ignite her flames and this was probably pushing the limits of her endurance at her age. And yet, her mind was filled with a sense of determination and dedication.

She was doing her best to do this for me and all I could do was to send her back my feelings of pride and encouragement. The heat of the collar was almost uncomfortable now and just before Cinder’s physical body dissipated, and her energy returned to merge with me once more, I could sense the magic on the collar break as molten metal ran down my skin and the connection to my magic returned. Cinder did it, and now it was my turn.

First, I attempted to teleport out of these chains and to the Fire Plane, but I wasn’t all that surprised when it didn’t work. The wards on this place probably prevented any form of teleportation because otherwise, someone would have tried to get to us that way by now. Even if Carmen and Melody couldn’t, they could have sent Ashe, and Mom and Pandora knew other people who could teleport and owed them favors.

Since that was a no-go, I focused on finding the Light within me and on the chains holding me in place. It wasn’t easy to focus my mind with the pain and discomfort I was feeling, but if Cinder could pull through, so would I. So, I remade those chains, manacles and all, changing them into ice and then simply commanding my primary element to reshape itself into a less confining shape. Now I just needed to do the same for the collars and chains on the others before Delilah woke up. At least I wasn’t too worried about anyone detecting small bits of Divine magic when we were surrounded by those wards.

I worked as quickly as I could, mentally thanking Ms. Norstrom for helping me to work on my focus, control, and mental imaging for the past few weeks. I worked on Jess first since she was the closest, then Mallory, and finally, Delilah, who my sister and Mallory caught before she could fall, easing her to the floor. I turned to Jess and sighed. “Well, we’re free-ish, at least from the collars and stuff, but the wards here are keeping me from going home for any help. Are you gonna stay like that or…”

“Yeah, unless we need me to change into someone else for some reason, but I doubt any girls are working here for me to copy. I’m finally able to be your twin for real, no way I’m changing now, Sis. Besides, the less we give away before escaping, the better,” she replied in a whisper as she hugged me. “It’s probably not a good idea to let them think one of us can use Divine magic unless we’re really in a pinch.”

I nodded and sighed, realizing that she was probably right, which meant that I shouldn’t heal any of our scrapes and bruises yet either. “I hate to say it, Sis, but that probably means it’s also not a good idea to make us any clothes from that ice. I know that none of you are as comfortable naked as I am, but you made a good point.”

She released me from the hug and nodded. “I understand, Sis, but maybe you should try for something to clean up a bit of that blood and replace your tampon if we’re gonna be moving.”

It was another good point, so I went into the corner and turned the frozen remnants of the collars into a rough cloth and a replacement tampon. They weren’t perfect, but they would do, and after replacing the old with the new and cleaning up a little, I turned the bloody cloth back into ice. There was one other thing I could do though that wouldn’t be noticeable, and I quickly did so, casting a pain relief spell and easing my discomfort, then casting it on the others, even the unconscious Delilah.

She didn’t look like she was relieved, at least not going by the look on her sleeping face, but I figured that she was likely having some kind of nightmare after her ordeal. We needed to get going anyway, I didn’t want to stick around this cell any longer than I had to when we could be searching for a way out of here. I turned to the others and said, “That’s the best I can do without being obvious that one of us has Divine magic, and now that we’re free, I believe we have some debts to settle on our way out. Let’s wake up Delilah and get moving. We’re not carrying her out of here.”

Waking Delilah was easier said than done. As much as my sister wanted to slap her awake for getting us all into this mess, we all figured that her mind was probably in a fairly delicate state after what she had gone through and waking her like that would do more harm than good. And yet, I was pissed with her too, but as much as I didn’t want to have to drag her along or something, I didn’t want to leave her behind while we all escaped either. Not even Delilah deserved what they did to her and what they were planning for all of us.

I was keenly aware that we probably didn’t have much time before someone in charge of this operation came to inspect their new ‘merchandise’ and every second that passed brought that possibility closer. So, I might have been a bit nervous and impatient as Mallory gently shook Delilah’s shoulder and tried to rouse her without possibly causing more trauma. “C’mon, Del, wake up,” she encouraged quietly.

After a moment, my blonde nemesis began to stir, frowning and closing her eyes tighter as if to ward off consciousness. Then she was suddenly wide awake, her body tense as she scurried away from Mallory’s gentle touch as if burned, and fled into the corner of the cell where she curled up in a ball, whimpering and trembling. Her voice was tremulous and cracked a bit as she murmured, “No, please… not again…”

We did not have time to play around with her fragile ego. As Mallory tried to move closer to try to get through to her, I didn’t have the patience to wait. “Delilah!” I snapped as I stood there glaring at her. “Snap the fuck out of it!”

I couldn’t be sure if it was my tone or her name, but she looked up. She looked scared shitless, broken, and a little confused from seeing me and Jess side by side, but she was awake and alert… perhaps too alert as her eyes darted around the small cell in terror. “C-crystal? Mallory?”

“Crystal, Jessica, and Mallory,” my sister corrected, stressing her name. “I’m here too, Bitch.”

“Of course, it’s us,” I added acidly. “Or did you forget that you planned this little party for us? It’s your own damn fault that you’re here too. I can’t believe that you were stupid enough to go to the fucking Chimera Syndicate!”

As I raised my voice, Delilah shrunk back into her corner, her eyes going wide with fear. “I… I… didn’t...”

“Didn’t what, Delilah? Think at all? Because that’s what it looks like, you selfish, conniving, bitch!” I told her as I tried to keep my tone low instead of screaming at her, much as I would have liked to. I couldn’t afford her going catatonic again, she needed her fire if we were going to get out of here. I was hoping that I could ignite it with our rivalry, because the scared little girl she was right now was only going to be dead weight. It worked, I could see a spark there from my words as she tensed up and her eyes narrowed, but she needed more, she still looked more terrified than angry.

“Maybe we should just leave her here with her new friends,” Jess pointed out. I knew she didn’t mean it though. My sister had caught on to what I was doing and was trying to goad her as well. “I mean, it is her fault we’re all in this situation. She’s worthless to us like this anyway.”

“N-not worthless,” Delilah mumbled, her hands shaking even as her back straightened and she glared at my sister, “I’m not!” Shit, that hit a nerve. I don’t know if it was something that those assholes who had raped and beaten her had instilled in her or if it was something that she struggled with before, but that fire was back. It might be a shadow of the fire she used to have, but it was there.

“Prove it,” I told her. “Get up, shut up, and let’s get the fuck out of here before those assholes come back. Or didn’t you notice that I got those stupid collars off us?”

Delilah’s hands went right to her bare throat and her eyes widened. “Y-you… how?”

“Trade secret, now do you want to get out of here or not?” She nodded in response to my question as she got shakily to her feet, so I added, “I propose a temporary truce. No loopholes from me and no backstabbing from you. We all work together to get the hell out of here, protect one another, and it ends when we’re all out of here and safe at our homes. Do you agree to these terms, Delilah?”

It seemed that her fresh trauma and fear of this place outweighed her caution and wariness about making deals with me again. She only thought about it for a moment before answering in a shaky voice, “I a-agree to the t-terms of this contract, Crystal.” She reached out to take my extended hand and we shook on it. Her hand was trembling as I took it but she didn’t let that fear and nervousness show on her face this time.

“Good,” I told her with a smile. “You and Mallory are up then. Let’s get through that door and start paying these assholes back for what they’ve done. Mallory, flame on.”

From the look in Deliliah’s eyes, she could really get behind some good, old-fashioned Fey vengeance right now. I almost felt sorry for any Chimera Syndicate thugs we might encounter on our way out. Almost.

“On it,” Mallory replied to me as she shifted into her natural, demonic-looking Efreeti form. It mostly looked like her usual human form but with crimson skin, a pair of curved black horns on her head, and bald. Well, she was bald until her head and back burst into flame, forming a fiery mane and wings.

Almost immediately, Mallory started turning up the heat on those flames until they were nearly white hot, causing Jess to shrink back a bit from the heat she was giving off. I followed suit, not wanting to give away my resistance to fire and heat to Delilah. Meanwhile, Delilah focused on those flames that her former bestie was pumping out and directed them at the steel door until it glowed red from the heat and finally there was a hole large enough for us to pass through from her assault.

With our exit made, I quickly gathered the ice that I had made earlier from our chains and worked on cooling off the still-glowing remnants of the door. Sadly, that meant that all my ice went up in smoke, or rather steam, to accomplish that. “We’ll need to hurry,” Jess suggested, “If there was anyone outside guarding that door, they probably noticed that.”

That was when I felt it, a strangeness in the wards that protected the building. They were becoming rapidly unstable as if someone was attacking them with something big. No, not just attacking them, those wards were being shredded, ripped apart spell by spell and layer by layer until there would finally be nothing left. It was like nails on a chalkboard to anyone who could sense magic half decently and I saw Delilah stop halfway through the remains of the door, wincing as she looked around in sudden concern and fear.

“W-what the hell is that?!” the Fire Mage asked in a panic as her eyes darted around.

I knew of maybe two people who might have the raw power and skill with Divine magic to do such a thing and that could only mean one thing. “The cavalry is here,” I told her with a manic grin. “I think these assholes have bigger things to worry about than this former door right now, what with their wards collapsing and guests arriving. So, who’s up for finding our rescuers and maybe getting some revenge on these jackasses on our way out?”

Delilah was the first to reply. “Nothing would make me happier,” she said, almost growling the words. That fire in her eyes was suddenly back in full force, but it was almost like looking at a wounded animal instead of the arrogant and vindictive girl I knew from school. Mallory and my sister looked concerned, and I couldn’t really blame them.

We all wanted some payback, but Delilah was hurting, and she wanted to hurt the people who did it. It was understandable, and I felt pity for her, even if this was something she brought upon herself. I didn’t feel pity for our kidnappers though. If Carmilla was here, they were all dead men already, whether they knew it or not. For their sake, they had better hope that the Night Princess got to them before Delilah did because at least Carmilla might make their deaths quick and relatively painless.

I was scared and very worried about Momma. At first, I didn’t know what was going on, only that everyone was angry, or as scared and worried as I was now. It all started when Nana Tiffani got a phone call before she and Nana Pandora went to open the club for the night. I had been with her on the couch working on schoolwork and we were finishing up when Nana Tiffani answered the phone, and then she turned white and nearly dropped it at whatever she was told.

That was when everything went crazy. Nana Tiffani called Dr. Diaz at work and said that something happened at Momma’s school and that Carmen and Melody were hurt. She and Nana Pandora had a hushed conversation and then decided to close the club for the night before Nana Pandora said she would get everyone upstairs so they could tell them what happened. Then Nana Tiffani made another phone call.

“Come on, Grundle, pick up,” she said as she tightly gripped her phone and paced back and forth. Then someone answered and she had a rushed conversation with them. “Grundle, we need your help… No, don’t worry about her. If you help us with this, everything will be forgiven, and I can guarantee you that Carmilla will drop her grudge over the Salamander incident… I need you to get here as soon as you can… Thanks, Grundle.”

A few minutes later, everyone who had been downstairs to open the club was back upstairs and looking as worried as Nana Tiffani, and that only worried me more. “Okay, the club is locked up tight and we’re all up here now, Tiff. Can you tell us what’s going on now?” Krysti, the nice Kitsune lady asked. “You never close the club without a very good reason, and it looks like you’re freaking out, and that’s making me freak out.”

“I got a call from Crystal’s and Carmen’s magic teacher, Elsa Norstrom. The girls were attacked as they were leaving St. Michelle’s,” Nana Tiffani responded, as she tightly gripped the phone in her hand. My heart clenched in my chest at those words. “Carmen and Melody are hurt and currently in the school infirmary. Elsa is doing everything she can for them…”

“Tiffani, what about Mallory and the twins?” Mallory’s mother asked, cutting her off.

“They’re missing,” Nana Tiffani replied, almost choking on the words. “Elsa believes they’ve been kidnapped. It was too organized to be Snatchers, she said they came prepared, so I’m worried it might be the Chimera Syndicate.”

“Fuck,” someone said in a hushed tone, but I wasn’t sure who.

The flames atop Mallory’s mother’s head flared violently as expressions of shock, horror and then fury briefly played out on her face. “What are we going to do? We can’t just abandon them!”

Her raw, hot anger was nowhere near as frightening as the aura of cold fury that radiated from Carmilla though. I almost wanted to run away and hide then and there, even though I knew it wasn’t directed at me. I had never seen anyone that frighteningly angry before, not even in my hazy memories of the vicious and nasty people who had raised me before I ran away and was eventually saved by Momma.

I could practically feel the temperature in the room drop as Carmilla said with a calm that belied the fury burning in her eyes, “They kidnapped our children. We are going to take them back, find the people that did it, and destroy them.”

“I’ve already contacted Grundle,” Nana Tiffani said, making Carmilla frown. “I know you’re still angry about the Salamander incident, ‘Milla, we were all angry at the time, but if anyone can find where the girls are being kept and get them out of there quickly and quietly, it’s Grundle.”

Mr. Grundle turned out to be a tiny man who looked kind of like a garden gnome with his beard and pointy hat, and he just walked out of one of the walls while everyone was discussing rescue plans. The plan was for him to make a magic tunnel (at least that was how Nana Pandora explained it to me) and sneak in Carmilla and some other people to help rescue Momma and the others and bring them home. Unfortunately, the plan didn’t work.

“What do you mean, ‘I can’t do it’, little man?” Carmilla snarled, making him flinch.

“I’ve tried making a back road to Crystal and Jessica, but there’s something blocking me,” he hurriedly explained while looking warily at the angry Vampire. “Wherever they are, the place must be protected with wards, powerful ones, and most likely including ones to specifically block extra-planar travel. I can’t tunnel to them and Crystal probably can’t teleport out either.”

Nobody was very happy with that news, and I was suddenly even more worried about Momma, Auntie Jess, and Mallory. I couldn’t lose Momma now, the very thought made tears sting my eyes and I suddenly couldn’t breathe. “Okay, plan B then,” Nana Tiffani said with a sigh before turning to look right at me. “Honey, Ashe said that you can probably track magic and people who use it. If we take you to where Crystal and the others disappeared, do you think you can track them?”

Everyone’s eyes were on me as I tried to calm down and make myself breathe properly again. I had never tried what they were talking about before, I was still getting used to the strange scents and tastes that were how I usually sensed magic. “I… ummm…” I began uncertainly once I could breathe again, unsure of what I should say, and even more unsure if I could even do what Nana Tiffani was asking.

This was for Momma though, the one who had taken me in and given me a body I didn’t hate and a life where I was happy for the first time. Momma needed me, so I had to at least try. There was one scent, one taste of magic, that I knew and had committed to memory, heart, and soul, and that was the one that I had sensed when I first awoke in this new body.

“I’ll do my best,” I finally said into the lengthening silence, “I would know Momma’s scent anywhere.”

“Grundle can you take Selina, Carmilla, Merry, and Anika to the school? Just tunnel to Carmen or Melody, we’ll need to bring them here anyway so Isabella can have a proper look at them, and they can rest comfortably. Then Selina can track Crystal from where the attack happened.”

“Yeah, that I should be able to handle,” the Gnome said with a nod.

After that, plans were quickly revised for the rescue mission. Aunt Merry, Carmilla, and Anika would escort me to keep me safe while I tracked Momma, and once we found the place where Momma and the others were being held, Aunt Merry would use Wind magic to let them know to send the rescue team and figure out a way to get past the wards. The kidnappers had to get past the wards themselves somehow, so there had to be a way that we could too.

Aunt Merry and Annika had left briefly and returned looking ready to start a small war. Aunt Merry had a pair of guns, swords, a knife handle sticking out of each boot, and even a bow and arrows. Annika had a much bigger bow and arrows and a very large sword as well. If it wasn’t for Carmilla carrying no weapons whatsoever, I would have felt underdressed as well as nervous.

Everyone wanted to have a hand in rescuing Momma and the others, but Nana Pandora quickly pointed out that not everyone was a fighter or had abilities or magic that would be helpful, and we didn’t want any more of us in danger than necessary. Many of those who could fight would already be accompanying me. Mallory’s mother insisted on coming for the rescue, but Mr. Grundle made his magical tunnel thing before I heard more than that and soon, we were traveling through a garden-like place along a path that took us to a place that looked like a doctor’s office or something.

Carmen was lying on a bed, with her head wrapped in bandages and her left arm in a sling while a blonde lady with big, white, feathery wings was standing looking over another bed that was hidden partially behind a curtain with her back turned to us. At least her back was turned until we stepped into the room, and the winged lady turned around suddenly, looking ready for a fight. Aunt Merry quickly explained, “We’re family, Tiffani Cummings sent us. How are the girls?”

The winged lady relaxed and nodded. “I’m Elsa Norstrom. Carmen should be fine with some rest. A mild concussion and dislocated shoulder seem to be the worst of it. She should be fine in a couple of days with the healing spells I used on her. She was groggy but awake when she was found but wasn’t able to tell me much about the attack. It happened too fast; these people were organized and prepared.”

“And Melody?” Carmilla asked, her voice softening in concern.

“Like I said, these people were prepared, specifically for Melody,” the angel woman said with a frown. “She was shot four times with bullets steeped in Divine magic, Demon-hunter rounds. One barely missed her heart, but none of the others were in critical locations. If she was a full Demon and only aligned to Death, she would probably be dead right now. I had to pull the bullets out by latching onto the spells themselves, but she’d lost quite a bit of blood, and any healing spells I tried on her would have only caused her further harm. Thankfully, it looks like her regeneration has started kicking in with those bullets gone, so she should heal up on her own.”

Aunt Merry’s frown deepened at that news. “If they were that prepared, someone must have given them that information, and this kind of organization makes me even more certain that the Chimera Syndicate is involved somehow.”

“Well, you might want to check out the bodies at the crime scene then, if the PDA investigators will let you. The attack happened on the access road, near the end, just before the street. Melody didn’t go down without a fight, she took three of their attackers down. And if you’re going after them, then I want in. These people attacked my students.”

“We’re putting together a rescue team,” Annika told her grimly “If you want to help, I doubt that Tiff and Pan will turn you down, and by the time we did things through proper channels with the PDA who knows where those girls would end up. Do you think you can help Grundle get Carmen and Melody back home? We’ll be contacting everyone there once we’ve found where the girls have been taken. Carmen’s mother is a doctor, and she’ll want to look them over. Not that we don’t trust you…”

“I understand,” Ms. Norstrom said with a sad smile. “I think I would feel the same if I were a mother and in her position. I’d be happy to take them home.”

Aunt Merry talked to the PDA investigators for a while but they didn’t find anything on the bodies that might tell us who the people who attacked Momma were, or who they worked for, and she didn’t want us to stick around and wait for them to try to track them down by mundane means. They could have called in a psychic, but not the kind that could see the past or future to tell us what happened or where they were taken. I guess that kind of psychic is really rare.

We had me though, and I was able to recognize Momma’s magical scent before they shooed us away from the crime scene. They were kind of jerks about it, so I was glad that Aunt Merry and Carmilla decided that we didn’t need their help and left to find her ourselves. Momma’s scent was mixed with two scents that were familiar and with some others that I didn’t recognize, but I was able to pick out Momma’s from the bunch and follow it.

The problem was that we had to follow the trail on foot when I was pretty sure the kidnappers had a van or something. Fortunately, it was dark by that time and Carmilla used some kind of shadow spell to keep normies from noticing us, though it made tracking Momma’s scent a little more difficult. My guess about the van was proven right when we found one abandoned on an access road to Gallagher Park, which wasn’t very far from the school. The van had Momma’s magical scent all over it and then I was able to follow it along a slightly overgrown park trail that smelled of magic.

Aunt Merry sensed the magic right away too, she said it was a very subtle Divine spell like one of the ones on the club, to make normies ignore it and forget about it if they’re looking for it. We followed the trail to what looked like an old shed, which also smelled of magic to me, almost like Carmilla. “Hmmph,” Carmilla harumphed, as we looked it over. “More magic.”

“Yeah, they definitely have a Divine Mage working for them. A good one too, that spell on the trail was subtle, a lot of weaker mages would probably have overlooked it and been as fooled as the normies. And this adds a Death Mage to the list as well, any idea what the spell is, ‘Milla?”

“It is a Shadow Gate,” the Vampire said with a frown. “Flex a little Death magic or carry the right enchanted item and it will take you to the matching gate. Even if normies stumbled upon it they wouldn’t be at risk of activating it accidentally. These are probably how Paranormals are traveling to and from the Caverns, and I would imagine there are more like it all over the city.”

Annika let out a long sigh as she unbuckled the massive sword that was strapped to her back. “I had a bad feeling that this trip was going to lead us to the Caverns. Stick close, Selina, and let’s be ready for anything, girls.”

Carmilla nodded. “I’ll keep my shadow cloak spell on us, it should keep anyone but a Death Mage or a Divine Mage from taking an interest in us. And the spell should be enough to activate the gate for us as well.”

The Caverns were a massive network of caves with buildings dug into the walls and all sorts of nasty and scary Paranormals like Trolls, Vampires, and Goblins wandering around, including several gangs that we saw. There were a couple close calls, with some of the Vampires, but they practically ran away as soon as they saw Carmilla. Other than that, the Night Princess’s spell kept us hidden as we made our way through the Caverns, but we didn’t really need to go very far.

The gate we came through was only a ten-minute walk from what turned out to be our destination as I followed Momma’s scent. We probably didn’t even need my tracking ability for the last five minutes of that, we could have just followed the Divine magic. Mr. Grundle was right about those wards being powerful and they smelled complex too, like there were layers and layers of magic there.

“Not exactly subtle, are they?” Annika grumbled as she looked at the big building dug into the wall of the cave across from us. “I don’t have shit for magic, and I can feel those wards. That has to be what’s keeping Grundle out.”

“This confirms that it’s the Chimera Syndicate. They’re the only group down here that could afford to pay for wards like that, or have someone that could create them themselves. Those wards make that place a veritable fortress and it’s just like the Chimera Syndicate to feel that overkill is underrated,” Carmilla grumbled as she glared at the warded building.

“The only way through those wards is going to be the front door, and I doubt that they’re going to let us just walk right in. Maybe Tiffani, Krysti, or Crystal’s magic teacher will have some ideas. I’ll contact Grundle to bring the others here and take Selina home, where she’ll be safe,” Aunt Merry said with a thoughtful look.

I immediately protested as I hissed quietly, “Noo! I want to help save Momma too!”

It was Carmilla who shook her head as she crouched down to look me in the eyes and placed her hands gently on my shoulders. “You have helped save Crystal and the others, we would not have found them without you, Selina. This is where things get dangerous. You could get hurt, or worse, especially in that den of villainy. We do not want that, and Crystal would not want that either.”

“But I…”

“Please, child,” Carmilla whispered kindly. “Go home, we cannot allow you to endanger yourself further. You are unique and if the Syndicate finds out about you, I fear that you will never know peace again. We will bring your mother and the other girls home safely, I promise you this, and you do not want to see what comes next.”

I knew she was right, but I couldn’t help but stare at the place where Momma was being held for a moment in frustration before silently nodding my head. “I… okay, Carmilla.”

“You are such a good girl, Selina, and so very brave to help us get this far. I am sure your mother will be as proud of you as I am,” the Vampire assured me as she wrapped me in a hug. A few minutes later, one of Mr. Grundle’s tunnel things appeared on the wall behind us and people started stepping out from the path that brought them here.

Mallory’s mom with her flames flickering violently and Lou’s Mom in her werewolf form came first, followed by Momma’s magic teacher, who was wearing some kind of old looking armor and carrying a really big hammer. Then came Krysti and Nixie, I didn’t think that either were fighters, but I knew that they were pretty good with their Divine and Water magic. Last of all came Mr. Grundle with Nana Tiffani and Melody and though Melody looked a little pale and tired, both looked determined.

“Melody, what the hell are you doing here?! You should be resting!” Aunt Merry hissed as they stepped through behind the others. “You were just shot with Demon hunter rounds and I don’t care if you think…”

“I came to save my girlfriend and my friends,” the half Demon interrupted as she reached into her purse and pulled out her really big gun.

“Merry, save it,” Nana Tiffani said with a sympathetic look toward Melody before Aunt Merry could protest again. “I wasn’t able to convince her either and she has as much right to be here as any of us. It’s her life to risk, and it’s not like we can stop her from just teleporting in anyway the moment we get through those wards. Now is that where they’re holding my daughters?”

Aunt Merry sighed but nodded in surrender. “Yes, Selina followed Crystal’s scent here and those wards have to be what’s keeping Grundle from getting through on the back roads. Any ideas?”

“Just one,” Nana Tiffani replied with a glare at the building. “No wards, no problems. Grundle, please take Selina home and be ready to come get us soon.”

“How soon?” the Gnome asked before as he motioned for me to enter the tunnel thing.

“However long it takes to destroy every trace of the people who took our children,” Nana Tiffani replied coldly without taking her eyes off the building.

“We better go, kiddo,” Mr. Grundle said as he visibly shivered. “We do not want to get between Fey and their vengeance.” He pushed gently at my legs urging me toward the magic tunnel in the wall. I could smell the potent magic coming off my nana and as I turned to step into the tunnel, I looked over my shoulder.

There were times that I thought I could not just smell and taste magic, but see it too, especially when it was powerful. As I left with Mr. Grundle and looked back, I saw it clearer than any magic that I had ever glimpsed before. Nana Tiffani was glowing with a bright white light to my eyes and the wards on the building looked like they were being torn apart. I kept watching over my shoulder until we were too far down the tunnel to see anymore.

Like the cell we had just escaped, the hallway was made of stone and probably the work of an Earth Mage, or a group of them, from the uniform look to it. It was only slightly better lit than the cell with the occasional glowing stones sticking out from the ceiling above us. The hallway itself was long, with almost a dozen more thick steel doors like the one we had melted our way through, indicating more cells and possibly more prisoners as well.

One end of the hall led to a dead end while the other led to a set of stairs going upward, further cementing the idea that we were in a dungeon in my mind. Between us and those stairs were four Trolls, who were now rushing toward us after shouting something about an escape to someone up the stairs. Well, I guess it was to be expected since the burst of flames that probably filled the hallway after we melted the door wasn’t exactly subtle.

Speaking of not subtle, whoever was tearing apart those wards was really going to town, not just dismantling but destroying them one after another. It wouldn’t be long before there was nothing left. I had a feeling that it was Mom, and that she was pissed since she was usually the biggest advocate for subtlety and fine control of our magic. These assholes shouldn’t have kidnapped her daughters.

The Trolls hurriedly approached to bar our path forward. Trolls were generally intimidating due to their size, strength, and durability, but apparently, that wasn’t enough for the Chimera Syndicate since these guards were all carrying some kind of assault rifles and pointing them at us. I wasn’t sure I could do anything with just my Ice magic quick enough to stop a bullet, let alone more than one, and I didn’t want to give away that I was dual-aligned.

The Troll who seemed to be in charge wasted no time in telling us, “Get your asses back in your cell, slaves. Or are you that eager for us to give you a test drive?” Delilah, who was leading the way with Mallory, began to visibly shake as the Trolls all leered at us and he turned to the trembling Fire Mage to add, “Is that it, Blondie? Our last gangbang earlier wasn’t enough for you, and you want more? We’d…”

His words were cut off as Mallory’s flames flared and she charged forward, her entire body wreathed in near white-hot fire as she snarled, “You fucking bastards!”

“They’re not…” one of the Trolls began to say in sudden fear as Mallory charged them and they tried to bring their weapons to bear. It was probably something like ‘they’re not wearing collars’ but he didn’t get to finish as Mallory was close enough to grab the barrel of the closest weapon, melting it almost instantly before turning to do the same to another while our enemies were still trying to figure out what was happening.

Unfortunately, the rest of us weren’t very useful in this situation since Jess couldn’t get close enough to use any of her self-defense lessons with the heat of those flames. I wasn’t built for physical fights, even if I did have the disposition for them, and even if I could generate some ice, it probably wouldn’t be long before it melted under Mallory’s now oppressive heat. Delilah was just staring at the Trolls in horror and trembling in fear. Dammit, we needed her!

Jess stepped between the Fire Mage and the scene unfolding before us, blocking her view, and started to shake her by the shoulders. “Delilah! Snap the hell out of it!”

I quickly joined her, putting myself between my sister and the heat of Mallory’s conflagration to shield her since I was fireproof, and she wasn’t. “Delilah, are those the guys who… hurt you?” I couldn’t bear to say what they really did to her, and she was totally lost in fear right now, I could see it in her widened eyes and from how she was shaking and struggling to breathe. There was no answer.

“Delilah!” I tried again, this time getting right in her face beside my sister. “You are not this fucking weak! You’re not wearing a collar anymore; you have your magic! Mallory is giving you plenty of fire to work with, so fucking use it! Make these assholes pay for what they did to you!”

From the moment I said the word weak, her entire demeanor started to change. She was still trembling, but the fear that showed on her face and in her eyes was quickly being replaced by rage with every word that I spoke. Now she was looking past us at the Trolls that Mallory was struggling to handle on her own. The Efreeti had made their weapons useless, and I saw some of the Trolls looking badly burned, but she wasn’t a fighter and while she could control her output somewhat, she couldn’t control the flames themselves, and the Trolls were backing off to keep some distance between them.

“Get out of my way,” Delilah stated in barely controlled fury.

Jess and I stepped aside, and the Fire Mage walked past us, her eyes focused on the Trolls and burning with malicious intent as the hallway ahead of us became a veritable inferno that engulfed the Trolls. Screams emerged from the wall of flames and Delilah allowed no escape for her tormentors until those screams finally ceased. When the wall of fire dissipated, all that remained of them were four blackened and charred corpses.

For a moment, silence gripped us as the smell of burnt Troll filled the air. “Should we check these other cells? There could be more prisoners,” Jess suggested uncertainly with a look at one of the metal doors.

“Don’t bother,” Delilah snapped bitterly. “When I was brought here, they said they would be sending their latest shipment out on Saturday. If they caught you, it must be at least Monday now. They only kept me around to get any more information for their plan and to…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, but we all had a pretty good idea of what she was referring to. She had been missing almost five days and that whole time she was probably being either raped or interrogated. Yeah, these assholes here going down.

We did check the cells quickly, just to be sure, but none of the others were locked or had the big steel bars blocking them that ours had, and Delilah was quickly proven correct. So, we hurried onward to the stairs going upward and entered a cavernous room that looked like some kind of gathering place. To one side was what looked like a bar, complete with stools in front and a plethora of booze behind it while the rest of the space had couches, chairs, tables, and even a couple of beds. There was also a small, raised stage area off to the side of the doorway we entered through from downstairs.

It was like some sick mockery of the club, though it lacked any real atmosphere with its bare stone walls, dim lighting, and exposed pipes and wiring along the ceiling. I know it was probably just some generic bar hangout for the Syndicate members and their guests, and they probably didn’t even know what the inside of Pandora’s Box looked like, but it still pissed me off. I had a disturbing feeling that the stage area was more of an auction block than a stage though, and that this room was probably where they auctioned off any ‘merchandise’ they weren’t keeping for themselves or didn’t already have a buyer for.

The place smelled of cigarettes, booze, and something else that was very familiar. There was a faint smell of sweat and sex in the room too, recently enough to make me believe that this place would probably hold very unpleasant memories for Delilah. The way she tensed up ahead of me seemed to confirm that.

The one thing I wasn’t all that surprised to see there was a welcome party. I counted four Mages, including the Earth Mage who had come to gloat in our cell earlier, though none felt extremely powerful. The others felt like a Death Mage, a Water Mage, and a Fire Mage, and those last two could make things tricky for Mallory and Delilah, but I was pretty sure Delilah was more powerful than their Fire Mage.

The far bigger problem was that they had goons with them as well. There were almost a dozen Trolls, a couple of Vampires, some Goblins, and even a massive, purple-skinned ogre that must have been ten feet tall. By this time, I could sense that the wards were almost completely demolished. I figured that it would only be a minute or two before they were gone entirely, and these guys had a lot more to worry about than a few escaped high school girls.

Maybe I could buy a little time here. I grinned as I called out to the Earth Mage from earlier, who there was no way I would ever call Master, “Hey, Asshole. Someone’s knocking at your door, are you gonna answer that? I’m gonna kill you regardless, but don’t you know it’s rude to ignore company?”

Jess, bless her little bunny heart, figured out that I was trying to buy us a few minutes and added, “Gotta give those Vampires props though, Sis. They’re still here when there’s probably a very pissed off Night Princess outside ready to bring this whole place down.”

Said Vampires suddenly got even paler than they already were and looked dubiously at the mages as if to ask, “Is that for real?”

“We have people waiting for your ‘friends’ upstairs, and they won’t get past the front door,” the Earth Mage replied with a sneer. Then he turned to the goons and said, “Get them collared and locked up again, and try not to damage the merchandise too much.”

“Dude, really?” I asked as I looked at him like he was the single most idiotic person on the planet. “You have heard of teleportation, right? Who says that they’re all coming in by the front door.”

As luck would have it, that was when the final layer of wards was ripped apart with a force that seemed to make all of Creation tremble and made every magic-sensitive person in the very large room wince and recoil. An instant later, two forms appeared out of thin air, placing themselves between us and the Syndicate members and their goons.

Melody looked exhausted from that one teleport, and she was awfully pale too, but that didn’t stop her from placing herself to act as a shield for me and Jess. With her was my magic teacher, Ms. Norstrom in all her Valkyrie glory, fully armored in something that looked straight out of a Viking movie and wielding a massive hammer. “Melody, would you mind taking the girls home so they can be healed?”

“Nope, not happening,” I told my teacher calmly. “I have something to do, so leave the Earth Mage to me.”

“If my sister stays, then I stay,” Jess agreed. “This is as much our fight as anyone’s.”

Mallory and Delilah quickly agreed, neither of them wanted to give up the chance for a bit of payback now that the odds were more in our favor. Melody gave my sister and me a worried look, her eyebrows rising as she saw that we were now completely identical, but she quickly turned back to the Syndicate members, cocked her gun, and said, “Not sure if I could teleport again so soon anyway. Let’s do this.”

The Valkrie sighed and grumbled something about Fey and vengeance but nodded and informed us, “Carmilla and the others will likely join us once they’re cleaned up the rest of the filth.”

Carmilla’s name caused the two Vampires to rethink their allegiance and then my teacher said something in a language that I wasn’t familiar with. An aura of light manifested from her hammer and covered both her and the weapon completely. Before I could blink, she was rushing at the ogre and hit it square in the chest hard enough to send it flying back twenty feet, where it demolished a table and chairs and then skidded along the floor, where it was slow getting back to its feet.

Mallory’s flames flared, but Delilah and the other Fire Mage were both seemingly fighting for control over them until Melody shot the other Mage with her hand cannon and turned his head into a fine red mist. Yeah, that was going to be in my nightmares for a while. My demonic fiancée then wasted no time in doing the same to the Death Mage as he started using some kind of spell, one that he couldn’t finish with a gaping hole where his chest used to be. No longer having to fight for Mallory’s flames, Delilah used them to engulf the small pack of Goblins that were trying to close in on Melody before she could fire her gun again.

One of the pipes running along the ceiling burst, letting loose a torrent of water that was turning in midair to head straight for us, particularly Mallory. Thinking that the Water Mage was likely responsible for this turn of events, I grinned at him. “Thanks, I needed that. You might want to watch ou… oops, too late.”

From the look on Melody’s face, my fiancée was responsible for diverting some of Mallory’s flames at the Mage in question causing him to frantically try to divert some of that water to put himself out. Not that I was going to let him. Water is Ice’s bitch, so I was freezing his weapon and turning it into mine, ignoring his screams to unleash a barrage of icicles at the Earth Mage as Melody finished off the burning Water Mage with a bullet to the head.

The asshole raised a wall of earth, destroying a table and some chairs in the process and my icicles shattered harmlessly against it. I now had a pretty good idea who had led the attack on us at the school. Now that I thought about it, his annoying voice was very similar to the one I heard before I blacked out. Well, that just gave me even more reason to do this.

Melody looked like she was still in pretty rough shape following whatever happened to her when I was knocked out (something else I owed this asshole for), and she was picking off Trolls with her big gun now that the other Mages were down. Delilah had finished off the Goblins and was now using Mallory’s flames to barbeque another Troll who had gotten the bright idea to try to make a run for it. Meanwhile, Ms. Norstrom had finished beating the Ogre to death with her hammer and was taking care of the fleeing Vampires.

I had this bastard all to myself amongst the chaos going on around us. Well, not quite to myself since Jess had my back as I moved closer to press my attack. Apparently, she figured that there was no point looking like me if it didn’t make her useful right now, so she had shifted her form to that of an Amazon that rivaled Annika for height and muscles. So, when he tried to copy me by turning his wall into a bunch of stone spikes to hurl at us and I created a wall of ice, my sister picked up a couch to give us some extra coverage.

It was a good thing that she did. My ice wall was shattered and while that couch was now a pincushion, we managed to block the worst of it, and we got out of it with only a couple grazing cuts. “Nice work, Jess,” I told my sister in relief as I focused on the Mage who seemed to be working on something new to try to ruin our day.

“You too, Sis. Now, finish this asshole off,” she replied.

I barely heard her because I was concentrating on doing just that. I was laser-focused on my target and sure, this guy could do some impressive stuff, but I noticed that he needed to concentrate for a minute or two before pulling off anything big. He used the others as a distraction to give him time to put up that wall, and the spikes hadn’t been for at least a minute after that and were easy to see coming, even if they weren’t easy to stop. So, while he had skill, he didn’t have raw power backing it up and a minute or two to cast a spell was an eternity in a pitched battle like this.

I, on the other hand, was starting to develop the skills and I had a whole lot of raw power. I also wasn’t dependent on gestures to focus and channel my spells like he seemed to be. When he had raised that wall, he had been raising his hands and arms, and I noticed that he had his hands outstretched after the spikes were launched. Those gestures gave him away every time he was about to release his spells, even before the sudden surge of magic that followed.

I drew on not only the cold comfort of the Ice within me, but also the Light of the Divine. I focused my mind on my opponent, not only watching for any gestures, but focusing on him, his entire being, everything that made him what he was and what I wanted to do. He had a look of concentration on his face, and I could tell he was working on something big, and just as he began to raise his arms, I let my magic fly first.

It happened in an instant. I took everything he was and made it ice. This wasn’t flash freezing, there was no frozen flesh or bone, every molecule of the ice sculpture that stood where the Mage once did, its face still frozen in concentration, was simply frozen water. I remade him, much as I had once done with Selina by accident, and nothing was remaining of the person he’d once been but the shape of the ice.

The room was quiet now. All our enemies, at least the ones in this room, were down and they wouldn’t be getting back up. The others approached and I noticed that Jess was back to being my identical twin, something that warmed my heart and felt right. We might not be genetically related, but she was my sister, the other half of me, and always had been since the day we met.

Melody practically crushed me in a hug and passionately kissed me until we both needed to come up for air. “I… was so worried about you, Babe. I couldn’t…”

I noticed Mallory and Delilah doing their best to melt my new ice sculpture as quickly as possible, probably not wanting to look at that ugly face again, but I was more focused on the girl holding me tight in her arms. I kissed her back to cut off what was probably self-blame and then told her, “I knew you’d come for me. You look like you should be in bed though so now I’m worried about you.”

“I got shot a few times,” she admitted. “Those enchanted bullets would have done me in if I was a full Demon, and Ember probably helped too. It took a bit for my regeneration to kick in after they were removed though, and Dr. Diaz thinks I need to rest for a couple of days to get back to peak condition. I wasn’t going to miss this though.”

“We should go find the others so Grundle can take you all home to rest,” Ms. Norstrom says, interrupting the moment. “You have all proven that you have the will to fight, but you are injured and tired. That is when people make deadly mistakes. Follow me, and stay behind me, I will keep you all safe. We may still run into Syndicate Mages or their hired muscle.”

Melody released me and brandished her big gun once again. “I may be too tired to fight, but I can still shoot. It’s my job to protect these two, and I’ll keep doing that until we can get to the others and call Grundle to get us out of here.”

I was a bit surprised to hear Grundle’s name being brought up since I thought that certain mothers at the club and Carmilla were still angry with him about the Salamanders. I wasn’t, I loved my little Cinder and understood that Grundle wasn’t trying to harm us. Hell, without Cinder we’d still be chained up in that dungeon.

As for Melody’s insistence, my teacher seemed hesitant, but she took one look at the determined look on my fiancée’s face and gave a reluctant nod. “I understand, you have the heart of a warrior, Melody. Stay on guard, girls, and let’s go find your family.”

We followed my magic teacher out of the room through another set of stairs leading upward, after she checked a door for any other Syndicate members to dispatch. It apparently led to a bathroom, and she didn’t find anyone inside. She wanted to go check downstairs as well but seemed pleased when we told her about our escape from our cell, and how we had already checked the other cells.

The next floor was a warren of stone hallways with rooms branching off them. These hallways were much better lit than those two floors below where our dungeon cell had been, and a look in the rooms told me that these were probably private quarters for members of the Syndicate. The rooms were lavish and seemed to have electricity like the floor below that hosted the bar, as well as most of the modern comforts that electricity could provide.

I figured that they probably had some sort of generator stashed somewhere, or perhaps a Wisp like Jenny providing their electricity as we did at the club. There was no way that they would be living it up like this underground otherwise. I knew we were underground since Melody told us that the base we were in was in The Caverns, but that didn’t surprise me at all given that the Chimera Syndicate was involved.

The reason we checked all the rooms was twofold. One was because Ms. Norstrom wanted to do a room-by-room check for any stray Syndicate members since the plan was to destroy this Syndicate cell completely and send them a message. Yup, Carmilla and everyone else at the club were pissed that we had been targeted, and they wanted to ensure that it never happened again.

The second reason for the room checks was to search for anything like a way of transporting ‘merchandise’ or any type of communication devices they might have for contacting the main branch of the Chimera Syndicate. Anything of the sort that we found would either have to be taken with us or destroyed so the Syndicate couldn’t send for reinforcements.

The first room had nothing interesting except for the usual occupant’s clothing. They were men’s clothes, too big and obviously not made for a woman’s body, but Ms. Norstrom took care of that since she correctly assumed that I was still hiding the existence of my Divine magic from Delilah. She used her own Divine magic to remake some of the clothes into clothes that would fit us a lot better since not all of us were as comfortable being naked as I was.

My teacher also took the opportunity while we were in a more secure and private setting to cast healing spells on the four of us who had been prisoners. Dressed and healed of most of our injuries, our moods were much improved except perhaps for Delilah, who was strangely quiet and looked like she might break down in tears at any moment. Though the Fire Mage was trying hard not to show it in front of us as we changed into the clothes that Ms. Norstrom had magically made for us. I chalked it up to her experiences before we joined her as captives of the Syndicate and figured that she was going to need some major counseling once this was over.

We had only checked five more rooms and found them to be empty of anything else useful to us when we started hearing shouts and the sounds of fighting. A Troll was thrown into the wall at a corner ahead of us, where it slumped down to the floor. That wasn’t the end of his suffering though as a bundle of fur, fangs, and fury descended upon him before he could get up, tearing out his throat to end him.

The Werewolf, for that was surely what it was, turned toward us, and the moment that she spotted us, she let out a spine-chilling howl. Immediately after, she cautiously approached us, probably more to not freak us out any more than we already might be than due to any fear on her part. I was absolutely sure that it was a female, going by the general body shape and the remains of her clothes.

Those clothes were shredded and bloodied, but I was pretty sure that none of the blood was hers and she seemed fine when she said, “Thank goodness Melody and Elsa managed to get you girls free.” I had never seen Lou’s mother in her wolfed-out form before, but her voice told me that it was her even if it was a little grittier than usual.

“Actually, Genevieve, they were already making their escape when we found them,” Melody quickly pointed out. “We just needed to help them take care of some assholes who weren’t keen on letting them go.”

“All of the Syndicate’s people downstairs have been taken care of. We were just looking for the rest of you and any stragglers that need to be put out of our misery,” my magic teacher quickly added.

“The entrance is on the floor above this one, that floor is clear as well. There were…” Whatever she was going to say was lost to us though when another familiar figure raced around the corner squealing like a mad woman, “You found them, Gen!” Then Nixie hugged my sister, Mallory, and me in turn as she told us how good it was to see us safe and sound. She practically crushed me when it was my turn.

“It’s good to see you too, Nixie,” I told her with a relieved smile. Jess and I had all grown closer to the dancers and other people who worked in the club since we started our own employment there. I had thought that it might make our relationships with them more professional, but it only seemed to cement it in my mind and heart that these people were family now, even if that family was a little strange.

While she crushed me in her arms, I whispered quietly enough so only she could hear, “I’m guessing that the obliteration of those wards was Mom’s doing?”

I didn’t want to risk Delilah overhearing, not that it looked like I had anything to worry about on that front. Now that we had met up with some of the others, were dressed, and seemed relatively safe for the moment, Delilah looked… disconnected. I couldn’t really think of another word that fits, she was just staring off into space again like she was earlier in the dungeon and I when caught sight of her eyes, they looked empty.

I almost… no, I did feel bad for her. She was going to have a long road ahead to learn to live with what happened to her and she was going to need counseling and friends. Real friends, not those people who hung out with her because she was rich and popular, who sucked up to her and couldn’t call her on it when she was going overboard.

Well, that probably wasn’t going to be my problem. There was bad blood between us, and even if I was willing to put it in the past, she probably wouldn’t. At least, not the Delilah that I knew. Maybe Mallory could help her through this, she was looking genuinely concerned for her and I wondered if their friendship was really as hollow as she made it out to be. It looked like there might be some feelings there still, at least from Mallory’s side.

I was so focused on the pair of them and those thoughts running through my mind that I barely registered Nixie’s whispered reply as she finally set me free from her hug. “Yeah, I’ve never seen Tiff that pissed off before. She’s upstairs with Merry and Annika guarding her and the entrance, in case reinforcements decide to show up. Krysti is with them as well.”

Nixie then offered, loud enough for everyone to hear, to take us upstairs to join Mom and the others, so we could be sent home, and everyone could stop worrying about us. Ms. Norstrom offered to help Genevieve finish the room-by-room search of the base for any Syndicate survivors. However, it didn’t sound like they would be survivors for long once Genevieve and Carmilla used their sharp senses to track them down. Everyone in this base who worked for the Chimera Syndicate was going to die, painfully if Carmilla had anything to say about it.

She took us back the way that she and Genevive had come to find us while the Werewolf and my magic teacher went to check the rest of the rooms in this tunnel. Jess took my hand, and Melody the other, and I took comfort in being close to them and safe as Nixie led the way and Mallory, pulled Delilah along and spoke to her in a quiet, reassuring tone. I probably could have heard what she was saying if I tried, but I figured it was probably between the two of them and did my best to not eavesdrop.

There were bodies to avoid while we walked, mostly Trolls and Goblins, but the occasional Mage as well, at least, I was pretty sure the larger bodies were Trolls. They were kinda hard to identify though. The Goblins and Mages that I was able to identify were slashed to ribbons or had their throats torn out, which was probably Genevieve’s doing.

The other bodies looked like they had exploded, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to know for certain how Nixie managed that with Water magic. My imagination was already filling in the blanks and it was enough to know that it was probably not a pleasant way to go, even if it was probably very quick. Seriously, there was blood everywhere, still dripping from the ceiling in places and running down the stone walls, and we had to avoid stepping into pools of it. And the smell, my poor sensitive nose was not happy and I imagined that it was worse for Jess with how she was tensing up.

Still, it wasn’t too long before we made it to a small room where we found the stairs heading up. Three main stone hallways branched off from this room as well, including the one we had just traveled, and Nixie explained that they had split up. She and Genevieve had taken one tunnel while Carmilla took another and Mallory’s mom, Calliope, took the third.

“That’s a lot of Mages and goons for so few of you,” Mallory said with a look of concern as she glanced down the center hallway, which smelled strongly of smoke and ash.

“If you’re worried about your mother, there’s no need,” Nixie told the Efreeti kindly. “Calliope is a really strong Efreeti who has very good control of her fire. It would take a relatively powerful, Fire or Water Mage to stop her, and even a top-tier Divine Mage would think twice before facing off against Carmilla. Speaking from experience, it would be a small miracle if they had anyone strong enough to take on any of us at full power and as pissed off as we are.”

“Yeah, they rely on hired muscle and slaves with control collars for a reason,” Melody agreed with a tired grimace. “The Syndicate attracts a certain type of Mage, those who have just enough of a taste of real power to want more. More powerful and talented Mages can make a lot more money by hiring out their services legally, either through working with the PDA or by opening up a business of their own.”

That did make sense, now that I thought of it. That Earth Mage I took out had felt like the most powerful of the four we faced, but even he wasn’t very powerful, he just had a bit of talent and learned some control. Once I realized that, he wasn’t all that hard to beat, and I’m still training with my magic.

“So, what you usually see is maybe a dozen Mages per cell or two dozen at most, and they’re all like the guys we just wiped out. They hire a bunch of Paranormal goons with flexible morals to fill out the numbers and the head of the cell might have a few Paranormals with magic control collars to boss around if the higher-ups like him enough. Usually, that’s enough for most of their criminal ventures and they snatch people like you girls by surprise, drug them first, or overwhelm them with disposable numbers. Sometimes all the above,” Nixie continued to explain as she ushered us toward the stairs and then up.

The room upstairs looked like a war zone that had once been a foyer of sorts. There were bodies everywhere, though thankfully none that I recognized, and the melted remains of a pair of huge steel doors led outside, probably to The Caverns. Some bodies were on the threshold of the entrance, meaning they likely tried to get in after Mom and Carmilla’s strike team hit. I assumed they were either Syndicate members and their goons who had returned to base to find it invaded or opportunists from the Caverns trying to take advantage now that those wards were gone.

The only four people standing in the room were Krysti, Annika, Aunt Merry, and Mom. Krysti was healing some injuries that Aunt Merry and Annika got while they were very obviously acting as Mom’s bodyguards. The moment that Mom saw us though, she rushed across the room to squeeze me and Jess in a hug.

“Are you girls alright? I was so worried about you when I got the call… if it hadn’t been for Selina being able to track you…” I guess she thought she might be babbling, or maybe she just realized that no words were needed right then.

So, she didn’t say any more for a moment, just held us both tight and then quietly reassured us that this was never going to happen again. Mallory got similar treatment when her own mother came flying up the stairs on wings of fire to crush her in an embrace. Mom hugged me and Jess, Calliope hugged Mallory, and neither would let us go until Grundle arrived to take all of us back home.

Mom came back to the club with us, partly because she still didn’t want to let us out of her sight and partly to reassure Aunt Merry and Annika that we were all going to be safe at home. Delilah still wasn’t responsive, and Melody had to carry her through the back road Grundle had made to return us to the club. It was like she had completely shut down the moment that she realized we were safe. I guess I couldn’t blame her after what she went through at the hands of the Syndicate, but we were all a little concerned by this.

Everyone who wasn’t still dealing with the dregs of the local Syndicate cell in The Caverns was in the club when we arrived. Sorcha and Selina were the first to glomp us, but Carmen and Lou weren’t far behind. Well, I guess Carmen didn’t really glomp us, but she was still nursing injuries from the crash, and I couldn’t blame her since my pain relief spell was starting to wear off.

Even with the healing spells Ms. Norstrom had used on us, I hurt all over. But, hey, that pain and the horrible cramps from my period meant that I was still alive and free. Not that it stopped me from quietly casting the relief spell again as soon as I could work up enough concentration.

After everyone had shown me, my sister, and Mallory how glad they were that we were safe and sound again, Carmen’s mother insisted on giving us all a checkup herself and applying some healing spells of her own. Ms. Norstrom was a powerful Divine magic user, but she wasn’t a Healer. My teacher had told us as much earlier, saying that she was more used to quick spells to keep herself or her allies alive and able to continue fighting on the battlefield.

While Isabella was looking us over and casting her healing spells on us, including Delilah, Brock and Cindy disappeared into the kitchen to make us all a nice hot meal. They made something for Delilah too, but I wasn’t sure if she was going to snap out of whatever daze she was in to eat it. Mom had already called her father, and he would be coming to pick her up soon. Maybe her parents could get through to her where we couldn’t.

Brock and Cindy brought out our meals just before Mr. Devereaux arrived, but he and Mom let us all eat before explanations were due. As I expected, Delilah didn’t eat. She was completely shut down, just sitting where we sat her in a booth like a zombie, and wouldn’t respond to anything we said. As we ate, Isabella took Delilah’s father aside and had a lengthy and quiet discussion with him. When he returned, he looked like he’d seen a ghost, and I had a pretty good idea what that discussion entailed since the doctor had spent a lot longer looking at Delilah than at the rest of us.

Then Mallory, Jess, and I told them what happened. We told them that the Chimera Syndicate had gotten their hands on Delilah on Friday and after what they put her through, she buckled and told them about me and Mallory. So, they planned the attack to capture us as well and took Jess because they thought they were getting a two-for-one deal on Snow Nymphs.

Yeah, okay, so we left one little detail out, we didn’t tell them that she had gone to the Syndicate in the first place with the intention of selling us out. It wasn’t a lie; it was an omission. Besides, it wasn’t like we had any proof of it, it was mostly conjecture and the taunts of one of our captors, and I think that we all felt that Delilah had suffered enough already. Worse yet, she had brought it upon herself.

Delilah’s father took her home soon after that, and it was about an hour later that Grundle returned with Carmilla, Calliope, Nixie, Aunt Merry, Genevieve, and Annika. Jess was on the phone, reassuring her girlfriend and our other friends that we were all home and safe now, and Mallory looked like she was getting really anxious about her mother’s safety until they appeared via Grundle’s back road. I was too drained, tired, and sore to do much other than cuddling with Melody and Selina in one of the booths.

I think they needed the physical assurance and comfort as much as I did, and I made sure to tell my daughter how proud I was of her for finding us. Melody was still thinking she failed us as a bodyguard though, and I needed to get those thoughts out of her head. “You were injured, outnumbered, and very nearly died while trying to protect us, and still led the charge for our rescue. I’m here, and I’m safe, so you didn’t fail. I had no doubts in my mind that Selina could find me and that you would be my Demoness in shining armor. So, shut up, take the win, and kiss me dammit. I’d do so much more to you, but I kinda feel like hell right now.”

Thankfully, she took my advice, and we were still kissing when the others returned. I didn’t even really notice until Pandora asked, “How did it go?”

“The Chimera Syndicate won’t be a problem again anytime soon, at least, not locally,” Aunt Merry replied and I turned to see a grim smile on her face. And that was when I noticed that we had company, in the form of two other young women I didn’t recognize. One looked like an Earth Nymph and the other was probably a Death Mage or a Vampire going by the magic I could sense on her.

“Calliope and ‘Milla went all in on the wrath, heavy on the fire and brimstone,” Krysti commented. “Not that I blame them!” she quickly amended when both the Efreeti and the Vampire looked her way.

“We killed every last one of those fuckers, except for a few Paranormals with control collars who were acting against their will. Carmilla just knocked them out and we removed the collars after,” Calliope explained. Damn, I was glad that Cinder was able to melt that damn thing off me, the thought of being controlled by someone that way sent shivers crawling down my spine. I made sure to give Cinder some loving thoughts and mental snuggles for a job well done.

“One was a local Divine Mage who vanished a couple of years ago, she doesn’t even remember how they managed to get to her, she just woke up one morning in a cell with that damn collar on,” Annika spat bitterly. “She was the one responsible for the wards on the place. Grundle took her to the PDA office to give a statement and try to get her life back.”

“These are the other two captives,” Carmilla said before gesturing to the pretty, dark-haired young woman. “This is Sophia, she’s a Vampire, one of mine actually. I turned her over thirty years ago in London. The Nymph is Garnet. I’m afraid that I have offered them our hospitality for now since they have no other options.”

The elder Vampire was looking at Pandora and Mom as she said the last and both nodded as Mom replied, “Of course, ‘Milla. Our doors are open for as long as they need it. I trust you’ve gone over the rules with them?”

She said them, but she was looking at the dark-haired Vampire. Even as both young women nodded, Carmilla answered, “I have. I do not believe that either of them will be any trouble. Sophia was the one who created the Shadow Gates the Syndicate was using to get around the city. Tomorrow, she will assist me in locating them all and destroying them, while we clean up The Caverns.”

That did not bode well for anyone in The Caverns, except for other girls being held against their will or drugged and forced to work for the gangs or in the whorehouses Rhissa told me about. I had a pretty damn good idea of what Carmilla meant from her tone alone and I had a feeling it was going to be a bloodbath.

Carmilla then went on to explain what happened after we left. They checked the entire Syndicate complex, killing any goons and Syndicate Mages, and the man in charge of the cell was the last that they found. He tried using the three women as bodyguards/meatshields to get away from Carmilla and slow her down but ran right into Aunt Merry and Annika.

They left him alive enough to talk, after ensuring he couldn’t try running again in the most expedient way possible, breaking both of his legs. Then Carmilla made him talk and he was very cooperative once she mesmerized him. Apparently, he had planned the job after they got the details on me and Mallory from some new girl that one of his men had caught and broke, that being Delilah.

The only part of it of interest to him was the big payday he could get for a Snow Nymph and an Efreeti when he told the higher-ups in the organization. Thankfully, there was no suspicion that I was anything more than a Snow Nymph and unexpected windfall. So, he hadn’t been able to tell the higher-ups anything of interest yet.

Then Carmilla found out how he contacted the organization to arrange sales, transport, and such. There probably wasn’t much they could do for any Paranormals that had already been delivered to the Syndicate for sale. They didn’t trust their cells completely and had someone come to set up temporary Shadow Gates whenever a delivery needed to be made so the cells had no idea where the delivery was being sent to and had no way to find out once the ‘merchandise’ was sent through. So, Sophia hadn’t been there and couldn’t help with that.

Sadly, the Syndicate kind of had a point since it would save their asses in case one of their cells, I dunno, kidnapped the wrong girls, got themselves obliterated, and pissed off the Night Princess into a homicidal rage in the process. While their forethought and paranoia worked out for them in this instance, it sucked for us because we couldn’t make the people at the top pay too. There was, however, a mirror in the cell leader’s quarters that was enchanted to be able to see and speak with whoever at head office held its match, similar to the Shadow Gate enchantment. Carmilla had him use that mirror to send a message to his superiors: their operations in Edmonton were over.

She made it clear to them who exactly she was and that they had made the grave mistake of targeting girls from her nest. Then she casually announced that we had just destroyed their cell in The Caverns beneath Edmonton completely in a single night. She further stated that if she ever saw or heard of the Chimera Syndicate anywhere near her city again, not only would she spend the rest of her immortal life hunting down and killing anyone with ties to the organization, no matter where on Earth they might be hiding, but she would appeal to the Night Queen herself to join her in the hunt.

If anyone in Carmilla’s nest was targeted again, ever, she would do the same. As if the threat of Carmilla herself wasn’t enough. Nobody with any real knowledge of the Paranormal, at least those in their right mind, would dare stoke the ire of two of the most powerful Paranormals on the planet, especially when those two had a well-earned reputation for leaving a deluge of bodies in their wake when pissed off.

So, in summary, The Caverns were going to be dealt with tomorrow, the higher-ups in the Syndicate were probably shitting themselves right now, and their operations in our city were most likely at an end. Carmilla was off to a good start with that last one since she had Garnet already undo her unwilling work for the criminal organization. The Earth Nymph completely collapsed the base as they were leaving, burying it and the bodies inside, so the Syndicate couldn’t use it again.

After we were all updated on the current situation, Carmilla took Mom, Pandora, and Dr. Diaz aside for a private conversation while I was still sitting and relaxing with Melody, Carmen, Mallory, Jess, Lou, and Selina. Poor Selina looked like she never wanted to leave my side again and, even though there was nothing he could have realistically done even if he was there, Lou was feeling bad that he wasn’t there to help us. Of those of us who had been in the crash at the school, it was ironically Jess, Mallory, and I who seemed to have gotten off fairly lightly on the injury front.

Carmen had suffered a concussion and a dislocated shoulder that were going to take a couple of days to heal, even with the healing spells that both her mother and Ms. Norstrom had placed on her. Melody had only suffered minor injuries from the crash itself, but she had been shot four times with bullets that had Divine spells meant to kill Demons. If she had been a full Demon, or shot anywhere vital, she would have died. As it was, they had slowed down her regeneration and weakened her even after they were removed, and Dr. Diaz wanted her on bed rest and taking it easy for a couple of days so she could fully recover.

Compared to them, we had gotten off lightly. The airbags in the front seats had mostly saved me and Jess from anything worse than some bruising, minor cuts from broken glass, sore muscles, and a bit of a headache. Mallory was suffering from a minor case of whiplash, and some bumps and bruises, but also seemed to be fine other than some sore muscles.

There was maybe some minor trauma there as well from our kidnapping and short-lived captivity, but it probably wasn’t as bad as what Delilah was going through. Frankly, it could have been a lot worse if we hadn’t escaped before those assholes got to do anything more than drop off Delilah to show us what was probably in store for us all and chain us up in their little dungeon. Like I told Melody earlier, we were free now and had managed to avoid anything truly horrible, so it was probably better not to overthink it and just take the win.

We were all tired from our long day though, so it wasn’t long before we all decided to head upstairs and go to bed. I just wanted to cuddle with Melody and reassure both of us that I was safe now. I honestly didn’t think that either of us would be up for anything more than snuggling either with the shape she was in, me still suffering from my period, and everything else that had happened.

We had all just decided to call it a night and head up to our respective rooms when Carmilla approached. “Crystal, could I have a few minutes of your time before you head up to bed? I know that you have had an eventful day, but this is important, and I would greatly appreciate it,” the Night Princess asked with a tone and expression filled with motherly care.

I looked to the others and nodded before shooing them off. “Sure thing, Carmilla. Jess, could you please make sure that Melody goes to my room and straight to bed?” Before my intended could launch a protest, I turned to her and let all my love and concern for her show as I added, “Melody, please. You should be in bed; you already pushed yourself to come to our rescue when you should have been resting. I won’t be very long, and I’ll be with Carmilla, you know she wouldn’t let any harm come to me even if we weren’t safe in the club.”

Melody’s protests stopped before they passed her lips and she allowed Jess to pull her along to the elevator with everyone else, leaving me with Carmilla. “Thank you, Crystal,” the elder Vampire said as we watched the others head toward the elevator. “I made peace with Grundle while we walked the backroad here, but I would like to speak with Ashe as well. I did not want to bother any of you with it, but Sorcha is still young and of you others with Salamanders, you seem the least worse for wear at the moment. I must apologize and discuss an urgent matter with her, and I will need an interpreter.”

“Should I just call her up here then?” I asked.

“Yes, perhaps that would be best, but let’s join Sophia first so I can introduce the two of you more personally,” she replied as she gestured to a booth where the younger Vampire was seated alone, apparently waiting for us.

“You said she’s one of yours?” I asked, hoping to confirm what I heard earlier. “I got the feeling that you don’t turn many people.”

“I do not,” she agreed. “Vlad may turn anyone who catches his attention, but I am more like our Maker. I only turn those who I feel need the change and will use the great power of our race responsibly. Sophia was the most recent, and only the fourth that I have turned in all my centuries. She is like a daughter to me.”

My eyebrows both shot up at that bit of information as we walked toward the booth where Sophia waited. I had the feeling that she didn’t turn many, but only four, and Sophia was one of those? I just had to ask, “So, what made you choose her then?”

“It was the smell of death upon her that first got my attention,” she said with a faint smile. “She was dying of Cancer. She had been given six months to live and instead of spending it in a hospice or hospital, she wanted to live her final days seeking out new experiences rather than waiting for death. We met in London by chance and spent a week together doing new and exciting things together. She helped me to realize that I was not living, but merely existing before her condition took a turn for the worse and I offered to turn her.”

“I didn’t believe her, of course, at least not at first,” Sophia added with a smile as we reached the booth. “I just thought she was this cool woman who took the Goth thing really seriously since I could never get her to meet me during the day. Who would have actually believed she was a bloody Vampire? I didn’t have much to live for, honestly; no family that I was close to, few friends, I just wanted to live a little before I died, and then Mum here offered me immortality.”

Sophia had a posh-sounding British accent, and I was a little surprised that she called Carmilla that of all things. “Wait, you call her Mum?”

“Why not? My real parents died when I was little, I don’t even remember them, and she’s been more of a mother to me since she turned me than anyone at the orphanage where I grew up. We stayed together for ten years before I decided to go explore the world a bit more on my own. Worst mistake I ever made because I ended up in the Chimera Syndicate’s clutches,” the younger Vampire said with a frown before extending her hand. “I’m Sophia.”

“I’m Crystal,” I quickly responded as I shook her cold hand. She was pale with long black hair and ruby-red eyes, very attractive, but if she was one of Carmilla’s then I thought she was probably just as beautiful on the inside. “It’s nice to meet you, Sophia, I wish it were under better circumstances though.”

“Don’t we all,” she agreed with a nod. “I’m free now though, we killed my captors, and I’m reunited with Mum, so I’m trying to look at the positives.”

“She was the reason that I first came here to Edmonton,” Carmilla added. “This was the last place that she contacted me before she disappeared. I looked all over the city for her, which is when I met Pandora and Tiffani. I didn’t find out about The Caverns until they took Rhissa in and by then I’d been searching for almost a decade and feared the worst had happened.”

“The Syndicate has a lot to pay for,” Sophia agreed with an intense frown.

“And we shall make them pay,” Carmilla stated with steely determination. “Crystal, could you please call Ashe for us?”

I nodded and reached out mentally along the Salamander network until I found her familiar presence. “Ashe? Could you please come here? Carmilla would like to speak with you.”

~ It is good to have you home safe, Crystal. Carmen and Sorcha were very worried about your welfare, as was I when I could not travel to you, ~ the Salamander replied, sounding relieved. ~ I will come. ~ Now I felt kinda bad for not letting her know we were safe earlier, though I guessed that she was probably able to sense our presence (at least me and Melody) and wanted to let us have time with our other loved ones.

The Salamander appeared a moment later to affectionately rub against my cheek while hovering in the air still fully aflame, earning a raised eyebrow from Sophia, who had likely never seen one of her kind before. “Thank you, Ashe, I’m glad to see you too. You know Carmilla already, but this is her… umm… daughter, Sophia.”

“Thank you for coming, Ashe,” the elder Vampire said. “I would like to apologize. I was angry with both you and Grundle because I felt that you endangered the girls’ safety when encouraging them to bond with your children. In truth, they are all safer because of it, and Crystal and the others would not have escaped before we arrived to save them had Cinder not been with her. Please forgive me.”

~ I understand her anger, I would feel the same if I felt that anyone was endangering my children or you girls who have bonded with them. There is nothing to forgive, ~ Ashe responded softly in my mind.

Once I had passed that message on, Carmilla nodded and smiled faintly before saying. “Thank you for seeing to the girls’ future safety. I have a request, if you would hear me out.”

~ What manner of request? ~

I ‘translated’ for Carmilla, and she quickly replied. “Sophia tells me that she has been to the locations of other Chimera Syndicate cells. Not the head of the organization or any of their other important locations, but we may be able to find more information in these places and damage the Syndicate further. If we had Salamanders of our own, she could take us to these locations and we would be immune to fire, one of a Vampire’s primary weaknesses other than sunlight and Divine magic. Could you take us to the Fire Plane?”

~ I cannot, ~ the Salamander responded sadly.

Once again, I translated that for the pair and Carmilla looked at me in concern as she inquired, “Are you feeling up to that, Crystal? You have already gone through so much today.”

I considered it for a moment before giving her my reply. “If it’s one at a time, I should be able to manage it. I can’t say how long it would take to find a mother looking for hosts for her children, but time does pass faster there than here. Are the two of you going to be okay there though? You just said that fire is one of your weaknesses.”

“As long as we stay directly out of any flames, we should be fine, and it would take a lot to get past my defenses,” Carmilla quickly assured me.

I still wasn’t sure whether I wanted to risk their safety like that and taking them now might just wear me out since I was already tired, despite what I had told them. I was also a little worried about their safety if I took them there. In all honesty, I had been lucky with my random travels there so far and I didn’t want to risk dropping us all in a lava pit or running into a lava Kraken or some other fire-based predator that might think we were dinner.

Then I remembered how Melody had gotten Salamandered by surprise during our first date. “Wait a minute, who says you need to go there to get Salamanders? One just popped into the Material Plane to lay one on Melody. Ashe, couldn’t you just go there, find any Salamanders with young that need hosts, and bring them here for Carmilla and Sophia? Time passes faster there, so you likely wouldn’t even be gone that long from our perspectives,” I pointed out.

Not only could she call out to her fellow Salamanders to find possible babies in need of hosts, but she knew the Fire Plane and could probably find Salamanders in need far faster than we could. If it was just her, she could leave quickly if there was any danger as well. ~ I would be willing to do that, ~ Ashe agreed.

With that decided, I wasn’t needed any longer and both Carmilla and Ashe encouraged me to go to bed and get some rest before the Salamander vanished to see about her task. I did as they asked, too tired from my long day to protest and wanting nothing more than to snuggle with Melody for a bit. It didn’t seem like I was destined to snuggle with her alone though, because Selina was waiting outside my door, dressed in her silk nightgown, when I arrived.

“Momma,” she said as I approached, “Do you think I could cuddle with you tonight?"

It wasn’t surprising with Selina’s family-related trauma. I knew that sometimes she still worried about losing her Momma and having this whole loving family thing go up in smoke. If it hadn’t been for her and Cinder, there was a very real possibility that she could have lost me today. She needed reassurance that I was still here, and I wasn’t going anywhere.

“Of course you can, Sweetie,” I replied. She needed me right now, and it wasn’t like anything more than snuggling was going to be going on, so what else was I going to say.

We both slipped inside my room, where we found Melody already asleep. Thank goodness, she needed her rest after today. I motioned for her to go sit quietly on the bed and then slipped inside my bathroom for a moment to change my tampon and place a pad inside my panties for good measure. Then I stripped out of all my other clothes, cast a pain relief spell on myself, put on a loose nightshirt since Selina was going to be snuggling with us, and climbed into bed. Snuggling with Melody on one side of me and my daughter on the other, it wasn’t long before I fell asleep.

The next morning, I assumed that Ashe was successful in her mission to find newly hatched Salamanders since both Carmilla and Sophia had Salamander marks on their arms. During breakfast, Carmilla announced that she would be taking the night off at the club that night. She and Sophia would be going to clean up The Caverns and destroy those Shadow Gates, and then they had some other business to take care of.

Nobody asked what that other business was. I think we all either knew or suspected that the Vampire, who considered herself our nest mother, was planning to make the Chimera Syndicate pay for everything they had done. If she and Sophia needed help, she would ask for it, but I held no doubts that she could probably do it on her own.

As for me, my sister, Melody, Carmen, and Mallory, we were taking the rest of the week off from school. Not only had we been through a lot and needed the time to recover, but our moms were all a bit pissed with the school for failing to protect us. They wanted to be sure that stronger measures were being taken to protect students of St. Michelle’s before we went back there.

Since I couldn’t work at the club while having such a heavy and painful period either, I spent most of the next few days relaxing and spending time with Melody, my sister, Selina, Sorcha, Carmen, and Mallory. We also spent some time getting to know Garnet better. As an Earth Nymph, she was one of the rare types of Nymph that wouldn’t have trouble staying in the city while she sorted her life out, but I had a feeling that both she and Sophia were going to end up staying with us permanently since Sophia and Carmilla were so close, and Garnet really had nowhere else to go.

Garnet actually had a lot in common with Risha. She grew up in foster care and had no idea what was going on when she Manifested. In her desperation for sex, she got involved with the wrong people and ended up in The Caverns, where she was later caught by the Chimera Syndicate. She had no idea how long she was their prisoner and slave, but going by the date that she remembered Manifesting, we were pretty sure that she had been there for at least eight years.

She and Sophia were both probably going to need to talk to someone professional about their long-term captivity and the things that they were forced to do during that time. I held no illusions about what else they were probably forced to do other than using their magic for the local Syndicate cell. The Syndicate and Snatchers mostly target women for a reason, and Garnet was a Nymph, so the math wasn’t hard to do. Even if Garnet did crave and enjoy sex as much as I did, being forced to do that and other things against her will and not being able to control her own body was probably traumatic.

Garnet didn’t say much about her time in captivity, but I couldn’t blame her. I had only been held captive for a matter of hours, and I wanted to just try to forget about it and try to enjoy the rest of my long life. She asked me what working at the club was like though, so me and the Dicken sisters all told her what a sweet gig it was for girls like us and let her know about all the benefits. I had a feeling she might be joining us as an entertainer soon.

Most of my injuries from the crash and our brief captivity were gone by the end of the day on Wednesday thanks to healing spells, and Mallory and Jess fared similarly. Carmen and Melody were both getting plenty of bed rest and were mostly recovered by Thursday night. By Friday we were all back at one hundred percent, though my period wasn’t quite over yet so it looked like I would be taking another night off work.

It sounded like we might be going back to school on Monday though. Mom had talked to Headmistress Collins, and it sounded like Delilah’s father had made a large donation to the school to improve security. She said there was talk of hiring the same Divine Mage who we had helped escape the Syndicate to place actual protective wards on the school grounds in addition to the spells that kept the normies from taking an interest.

The protections probably wouldn’t be as extensive as the ones Mom destroyed at the Syndicate base, but it sounded like there was serious talk about what their options were. Allowing only certain Paranormals on the grounds could be tricky, but they were looking into measures to keep people like the Syndicate, who have intent to harm or kidnap any students from just walking onto the grounds and lying in wait like the team who captured us did. I was hoping that it worked out since we were all looking forward to going back to school.

We all missed our friends from Auto Shop, having only been able to talk to them on the phone or through our Discord server. We wanted to hang out with them, and Carmen and I wanted to get back to work on our project cars. Most importantly, Jess missed her girlfriend and couldn’t wait to show Rose how good she was at shapeshifting now.

That was one of the few good things to come out of our kidnapping, and Jess was getting better with it every day. She no longer had to hide her tail and ears, wear contacts that she hated, and it was like we really were twins now. We were both looking forward to the mischief we could get into and the confusion we could cause at school now that she could properly control her shapeshifting. Hopefully, we would all be back on Monday and wouldn’t have too much schoolwork to catch up on.

We were back at school the Monday after the incident with the Chimera Syndicate since Headmistress Collins assured Mom, Pandora, and Calliope that the new protective wards on the school would be in place by then. Well, I guess not all of us were back at school. Delilah wasn’t there, but after the incident, I had a feeling that it would be a while before we saw her again, if ever.

Without the school’s Queen Bee and main antagonist there, things were quiet, and even a little boring for a while. Some of the toadies… err girls in her social circle tried to fill the void her absence left and take her place for themselves, but none of them had Delilah’s presence or influence, so they all fizzled out into social obscurity. Unlike Delilah, none of them were much of a problem for me and my circle of friends.

Sure, they tried, but none of them were really all that intimidating, nor did they have the clout that Delilah did. They also couldn’t tell the difference between me and Jess so they tried to put us both in our place to secure their coveted social position. That didn’t work out well for any of them, and my sister and I always got our vengeance in creative ways. Yeah, it was probably a bit petty of us, but they should know better than to mess with the Fey, and we tried not to go too far after the way things turned out with Delilah.

We had semi-regular hangout sessions on Sunday with our friends from school, while we were all free. Other than that, whenever we weren’t in school, working, or spending family time, Jess and I tried to spend some quality time with our respective girlfriends. I was still head over heels for Melody and it looked like things were getting serious between Jess and Rose too. Those two couldn’t keep their hands off each other, horny little bunnies.

Yes, I know, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, or something like that. What the hell does that even mean? Old people quotes are stupid. Who would want to live in a house made of glass, anyway?

Completely aside from the fact that such a house would be extremely breakable, which probably has something to do with the lesson behind the quote, I can think of several other reasons why living in one would be a horrible idea. They would be expensive to heat in the winter, and the cleaning… not just the walls, but how annoying would it be to look up at the ceiling, expecting to see a nice blue sky and there’s a bit glob of bird shit above you? And that’s not even taking into account the privacy factor. I might not have a sense of modesty, but even I would think twice about getting freaky with Melody when people, especially children, could just walk up the wall and watch. Maybe old people are just prudes and didn’t think of that.

Anyway, where was I? Having sex with Melody? No, wait, I was going to talk about relationships. There may be a lot of sex involved, but that’s far from all there is to my relationship with Melody. Like I said, I was still head over heels for her, and I was pretty sure she felt the same about me.

Unfortunately, our time together was usually limited between school, our jobs, and Melody’s training with Aunt Merry. Melody still felt like she had failed us when Jess, Mallory, and I were kidnapped, and she was determined to train harder to be a better bodyguard so that would never happen again. Sometimes, they trained after the club was closed, while me and some of the other entertainers were providing extra services to club patrons, and I would have to get her to stop and cuddle with me in bed so we could sleep together. We were both usually too tired from our previous exertion for more than that.

As I half expected, both Sophia and Garnet chose to stay with us and join the Pandora’s Box family. Garnet was learning the ropes to be an entertainer, alongside Calliope, and she was a fast learner who was eager to start dancing and providing services to the Club’s patrons. As for Sophia, she had some experience with fashion and sewing, so she became Lana’s assistant costume master. It was a good thing too, because Lana gave birth to a baby girl around three weeks after the kidnapping and needed all the help she could get with designing and making stage costumes for both Mallory’s mother and Garnet. Little Abby was hella adorable though.

Sophia and Carmilla were probably away as much as they were at the club though. Both of the Vampires were determined to take down the Chimera Syndicate for good. After they cleaned out the Caverns, they started following up on Sophia’s leads, which allowed them to take down a few more cells and free some more Paranormal slaves. Some of those slaves were eager to get their lives back, but there were more who were determined to join Carmilla and Sophia on their quest to make the Syndicate pay, and they were getting organized.

Some cells were like the one we had taken down, hidden from the sight of the normies in places like the Caverns and protected with wards. These seemed to be the ones that did the majority of Paranormal slave trafficking. Others were small operations, buying and selling goods and information. They preferred to stay under the radar by using abandoned buildings and such, with no wards or even spells to turn normies away to give away their presence.

Each time they hit a location; they got a little more information to go on and when there were captives or slaves involved, their numbers grew as well. My magic teacher often joined them on their night raids to the locations that had wards, to take them down like my mother had that first time. She was even more powerful with Divine magic than Mom, and while Mom applauded their efforts, she wisely chose not to get involved further and risk exposing herself as a Muse. She was a lover, not a fighter.

For spring break, we closed down the club and went for a week-long trip to a ski resort in the French Alps that was hidden from normies and geared toward Paranormals. We didn’t even have to spend a long plane trip to get there since Grundle took us there along his back roads. It was nice to have a week to spend with my daughter, Jess, Melody, Mom, and the rest of our strange family, and all that snow was heavenly.

Seriously, skiing was the most fun I ever had with my clothes on, or at least while not taking them off. Jess seemed to enjoy it as much as I did, once she stopped falling, and it was a nice new experience for Selina as well, though I think she was happy just to get to spend so much time with her momma and Aunt Jess. Though it was often me just me and Selina, Jess skied and hung out with Rose as much as she did us, not that I blamed her for spending quality time with her girlfriend.

Unfortunately, Melody and skiing did not mix. My lover actually broke her leg, and it took three days for her Demon regeneration to heal it. While we were on the slopes, she hung out with Carmen and Lou, who were almost as bad at skiing as she was, both hosting several bumps and bruises. We tried to spend some time with the others between runs and Melody and I made up for lost time together by making love in our room or by snuggling in front of a fire in the lodge while sipping hot cocoa and talking, sometimes with a worn-out Selina snoozing across our laps.

Mallory and her mom didn’t do much skiing, as Calliope was taking advantage of some of the resort’s facilities and its remoteness to teach her daughter how to control her flames. Not just how much she was releasing at once, but how to manipulate them as well as any Fire Mage could. She was also trying to teach her to use the heat she generated, and those flaming wings of theirs, to fly. Mallory was sporting as many bumps and bruises from those attempts as Lou and Carmen were from skiing, but I couldn’t blame them for not enjoying the slopes with us when Mallory could learn something as cool as flying.

We weren’t only there for skiing anyway; Mom and Pandora were tying the knot. The ceremony was fairly small and private, and nothing too extravagant. They were simple women after all, and what was important to them was the act of getting married, not the fancy trappings. The guest list was small, just our big, crazy family and a few family friends like Grundle, Jimmy, Rose, and her aunt.

Carmilla officiated the ceremony, Sorcha made the most adorable little flower girl, and Selina, Jess, and I acted as Mom’s bridesmaids. Pandora’s side of the bridal party was rounded out by Rhissa (Jess’s and my soon to be sister), Genevieve, and Nadia, while Lou acted as the ringbearer. The ceremony might have been simple, but it was beautiful, everyone who mattered was there, and there were a lot of teary eyes when it was over, including mine. I only hoped that Melody and I could have as wonderful a wedding whenever we decided to get married. For now, I had her promise ring, and that was enough for me.

We returned to school after a very relaxing week to find that Delilah had returned, but she wasn’t the same person she once was. This Delilah was quiet, withdrawn, timid, and mostly kept to herself. She avoided her old ‘friends’ and seemed unnaturally focused on schoolwork rather than socializing. So, it surprised us when Delilah came to our table at lunch a week after her return.

“Ummm… hey,” she began awkwardly as she stood there, her lunch tray shaking from her trembling hands.

“What do you want, princess?” Bella snapped, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. None of us had told our friends about Delilah’s involvement in our kidnapping or how she had suffered at the hands of the Chimera Syndicate.

“I… I came to apologize… for everything I’ve put you all through. So, all of you… I’m sorry.” Delilah said, barely audibly. “I... I’ve been working up the nerve to do that for a week now. Mallory, Jessica, and Crystal, I’m especially sorry to you and I wanted to… thank you. If it wasn’t for you, I would have… you know…”

~No, we don’t know,~ Nikki said bitterly.

“Y-you didn’t tell them?” Delilah asked in surprise, her eyes darting between me, Mallory, Jess, Melody, and Carmen.

I shook my head as I replied for all of us, “It wasn’t our place to tell them, or anyone else, what happened to you. Besides, Mallory was worried about you when you didn’t come back to school. Well, maybe we all were… a little.”

Delilah’s downcast eyes widened in surprise. “I… thank you again, but I… don’t deserve it. You should. Tell them, I mean.”

Mallory’s eyebrows lifted as she asked, “Del, are you sure?”

“Y-yeah, you shouldn’t be hiding things from your friends to protect me,” she replied in a tremulous voice. “Just… please don’t spread it around the rest of the school.”

I could understand why she wouldn’t want that. Not only would it further her humiliation if it got out to the rest of the school, but there were enough rumors going around about her long absence already, some of them uncomfortably close to the truth, given the timing of her disappearance and our kidnapping. Finally, I nodded and offered, “I can’t speak for our friends, but nobody else will hear about it from me.”

“I promise the same,” Jess added a moment later, and Carmen, Melody, and Mallory quickly agreed.

“I… thanks again, and I’m sorry for being such a bitch to all of you. I’ll… umm… go now and leave you alone.” Before any of us could say anymore, Delilah rushed away from our table to find an empty table to sit at alone.

Mallory, Jess, and I ended up telling the others the full story of our kidnapping and what happened with the Syndicate on our private Discord server, save for the involvement of Salamanders and Divine magic. Jess came up with a clever fib about how I had damaged my collar by lashing out with Ice magic and making the metal brittle while it was being put on me. The others had all suspected that Delilah was somehow involved, of course, and there was anger, but that was dulled once we told them about the condition that Delilah was in when she was thrown into our cell, what had happened afterward, and how she helped us escape by using Mallory’s flames.

They all promised not to spread the story any further than our group, even Bella, who was the most hot-tempered of us all. We all also agreed that Delilah shouldn’t be alone, even if she seemed to be purposely doing it to herself. She had been through enough already, and all of the girls in Auto Shop knew what being a social pariah was like enough to not wish it on someone who was already suffering.

With Mallory’s help, we coaxed her into our social circle. Mallory still valued the friendship the pair once had, and it seemed that Delilah did too. It would take a while for Delilah to earn our trust and any real friendship, but we all decided to at least give her the chance to prove herself.

Time passed quickly, and Delilah eventually proved her worth. The only times I ever saw that fire that Delilah used to have was when she was standing up for one of us. The first time that happened was with Nova, and Delilah laid into the girl who was harassing the poor Nereid without mercy. Bella was about to do the very same thing and was a little stunned when Delilah beat her to the punch.

Other than school, my life was mostly dominated by work and spending what time I could with friends and loved ones. Mom and Pandora even let up on me and Melody needing someone watching over us on our rare dates once Aunt Merry announced that my girlfriend could protect me as well as my Fey aunt herself could. Carmilla and Sophie also gave us regular updates on their war against the Chimera Syndicate.

At the beginning of May, both the Night Queen and Vlad had joined their crusade after Carmilla showed them that the criminal organization had cells on their turf and that some missing Paranormals under their respective care had been taken by the Syndicate, sometimes with the help of Vampires who Vlad himself had turned acting as hired muscle. That would turn out to be the final nail in the Chimera Syndicate’s coffin. After the two of them got involved, the Syndicate’s Vampire muscle started to realize what very deep shit they could be in with not just Carmilla, but Vlad and the Maker of them all involved and going after their employers.

Vampires began selling out syndicate cells left and right for leniency and joined the crusade, a few of them providing vital information on those at the very top of the Syndicate hierarchy, including the man that Carmilla had seen in the enchanted mirror. After that, it was all over and cells all over the globe were being hit by not only those freed from their clutches but almost every Vampire worldwide. They were going after the Chimera Syndicate from the top down and if anyone with ties to the organization survived the slaughter that followed, they would have to be deep in hiding.

So, it looked like the Syndicate’s days were coming to an end. It would be decades before they could recover from this, if ever, by the time Carmilla’s crusade was finished with them. There were still Paranormals missing who had been thought taken by the Syndicate and they didn’t exactly keep records of what they sold, or where, but a lot had been freed by their actions and more were being freed with every raid. Carmilla was hoping that the organization would be completely destroyed worldwide by the end of the summer.

Before we knew it, Graduation Day was upon us. Our project cars were all finished, and I was in love with my Supra almost as much as the Charger. Melody would always be my first love though. As much as Jess rolled her eyes and complained about the white Volkswagen Rabbit that Clarice had handed her the keys for, I knew my sister well enough to know that she secretly liked it. We were all really happy with our finished projects, even those who couldn’t legally drive yet. Carmen would be getting her driver’s license next month though and promised to drive Selina to school next year in her sporty little blue Kia Optima SX Turbo.

Me, Jess, Melody, Mallory, Rose, Trixie, Clarice, and Delilah were all officially done with high school now, and that Sunday, we all had a little celebration with our other friends at the club. We were all just chilling and relaxing and eventually the topic of the future came up as Clarice looked at Selina, Nova, Carmen, and Bella and said, “Well, I guess we’ll be leaving you all in Alison and Nikki’s care next year.”

“We’ll take good care of them, and you too, Sis,” Alison promised with a look at her sister, Phoebe, who would be starting next year with Selina as a freshman. “It’s not like we’ll never see each other again though; we can all still hang out if you graduates can make time for us.”

~Yeah,~ Nikki agreed. ~So, what do you all have planned now anyway?~

“No surprises here,” I answered first without even thinking about it. “Me and Mel plan to keep working at the club for a long time to come. I do have a kid to support after all, and I love my job.”

I smiled at Selina and ruffled her hair, making her squirm in her seat as she complained, “Not the hair, Momma.”

Melody leaned over to kiss me and agreed, “I never thought I’d finish high school. I’m happy with that and Merry finally has me trained as a proper bouncer, so I can’t leave now. Besides, I get to watch my hot fiancée perform every night and throw anyone who bothers her out on their ass, what’s not to love about that job?”

“I’ll keep working here as a bartender while going to school, but I’m really looking forward to taking the Performing Arts program at Concordia University. Hopefully, someday I’ll land a big role and make it big though, now that I can control my shapeshifting,” Jess contributed.

“Same here,” Rose agreed. My sister’s girlfriend looked like a normal human, thanks to the shapeshifting teacher at the school and some help from Jess. “I’ll keep working at my aunt’s store while going to Concordia. Though I’m looking to go into makeup artistry.”

Mallory spoke up next. “I thought of going to a Culinary Arts school, but Brock and Cindy offered to take me on as an apprentice and promised to teach me everything I would learn there. I kinda want to stay here with Mom and everybody anyway.”

“I don’t have any big plans, but I’ll probably take over Mom and Dad’s café someday,” Clarice said with a shrug. “I’d love to work on cars, but I can always do that in my spare time as a hobby. Me, Trixie, and Crystal can be car buddies when we’re not too busy.”

“Sounds good to me,” Trixie agreed with a grin. “I know just the place we can work too. My dad bought me a hell of a graduation gift. There’s this little garage that recently went out of business and it’s all mine now. I’ll need to get Divine Mage to hide it from the normies, fix it up a bit, and take some college classes but I’m thinking of opening it up someday as an auto shop for Paranormals. We can work on our own rides there and if any of you want to help out there once in a while when you have time once it’s opened, I’d pay you. Fun and money, what do you think?”

Of course, every gearhead amongst us was thrilled with that idea. I wouldn’t mind getting to tinker with cars and making a little cash once in a while, even if it wasn’t my full-time job. That just left Delilah, the quietest among us. It was a slow process, but it felt like she was starting to get some of her confidence back, just without the arrogance and quick temper that used to go with it. None of us, except possibly Mallory, who was once again her BFF, really knew if she had any plans for the future, except maybe taking over her father’s company one day.

So, it surprised us all when Bella asked about her plans, and she responded quietly with, “I want to go to college too. I’ve been thinking about this since my therapist helped me come to terms with what happened… you know, with the Syndicate. I want to be a therapist and specialize in helping Paranormals who have been through major trauma. A lot of us can’t afford therapists except the basic counseling that the PDA offers and even if they could, they couldn’t reveal anything important to normie therapists.”

If anything showed how much Delilah had turned around in the past months, it was that statement. The old Delilah wouldn’t have thought of others at all, let alone realize that things like therapists are usually too expensive for people who aren’t stinking rich. It cemented the decision that I had been waffling on for a few days now.

“That sounds like a great idea, Del. I know that Selina could have used a therapist when we first took her in. Could you come with me for a sec? There’s something that I want to show you,” I said before turning to the others to assure them, “We’ll be back in a few minutes. Don’t break out the ice cream until we get back.”

Delilah seemed confused, or maybe concerned, but she did follow me to the elevator, where I pushed the button for the garage. “We’re going to the garage? Is this a car thing, Crystal? You know I’m not a gearhead like most of you.”

“It’s not a car thing, it’s more like a possible graduation gift,” I quickly assured her on our way down. “Cinder, can you come out sweetie?”

~Okay, Momma. I can see what you’re thinking, are you sure it’s a good idea?~ my Salamander bodymate replied before erupting from my upper arm in a flare of fire. For some reason, she had taken to calling me ‘Momma’ like Selina did. Not that I minded, she would always be my sweet baby.

“I think so, but the final decision will be Ashe’s,” I assured her.

~I will tell her we’re coming,~ Cinder offered as she swooped in to affectionately nuzzle my cheek.

Delilah gasped, staring at the nearly full-grown Salamander in awe. “W-what is that? Your tattoo…”

“Isn’t a tattoo,” I finished for her as we reached the garage, and the elevator doors slid open. “This is Cinder, she’s a Salamander. They’re symbiotic and bond with other living creatures. She shares my body, and she’s sort of like a child, a friend, and a protector all in one. Most people can’t bond with them without spontaneously combusting, only people who are aligned to Fire, Divine, or Death. I’m sorta a special case.”

“Is this because of your dual alignment?” Delilah asked, and this time it was my turn to stare at her in stunned shock. She rolled her eyes, and I saw a brief flash of her old confidence as she smiled, but the smile was warm. “Please, Crystal, I’m not stupid. I suspected something was up with you since we escaped, and you turned that guy to ice. You didn’t freeze him; you changed him completely. I guess the Salamander explains how you got our collars off too.”

“Who have you told?” I asked, almost gasping for air.

Her immediate response was, “Nobody. I didn’t really start piecing things together until I started hanging out with all of you, and I figured that you must have a good reason to keep it a secret. I won’t tell anyone either, I’ll swear a binding oath to that if you want me to. You saved me and gave me a chance when I really didn’t deserve it. I don’t want to be the kind of person who stabs her friends in the back.”

“I… thanks, Del. If you could keep the Salamander thing secret too, I’d appreciate it.” I took a deep breath and led us into the furnace room. “This is where Ashe lives, she’s Cinder’s mother and she provides all our heat and hot water. She also recently had a large clutch of eggs. Everyone who lives at the club and would be compatible with a Salamander has already been given one, including Selina and Mallory, but there’s one left. If Ashe approves, I think you should have it. A Salamander would keep you safe, give you a source of fire when needed, and if you love and cherish them, they can be wonderful companions.”

“I… I don’t know what to say,” she sputtered as I yanked open the door to the ‘furnace’.

“Let’s just see what Ashe says first,” I told her with a faint smile.

Ashe winged her way out of the blaze inside her little home to examine the Fire Mage quizzically. When I encouraged Delilah to give Ashe’s head a rub and she didn’t flinch when they made contact, Ashe’s decision was made. ~She will do nicely, Crystal. I believe that she will be good for my child and that bonding with one of us will be good for her as well.~

The Salamander swooped back inside her steampunk oven furnace thing and returned a moment later with her last egg clutched in her forepaws. She placed it on the floor in front of Delilah and nudged it toward her, just like she once did to me with Cinder’s egg. I smiled and said, “Well, there’s your answer, Del. Welcome to the club. Now pick up that egg and let’s go get Cinder’s old hatching bag so we can put it inside and I can tell you what you have to look forward to.”

Two weeks later…

Melody and I returned home from a wonderful Sunday lunch date to find my sister on one of the couches in the common room with Selina watching TV, while Mom, Pandora, and Rhissa were seated stiffly on the other. Jess looked deep in thought, as did Mom, and I wondered what was up as I sat on the couch to put my arm around my sister and daughter. Melody squeezed onto the couch on my other side to snuggle, and it felt nice to be so close to the people I cared for most.

“What’s up, Sis, family meeting? Is this an intervention? I don’t think I’ve gotten in any trouble recently,” I joked, but I was a little concerned by the sad and generally conflicted expressions on their faces.

It was Mom who answered, and she looked utterly torn. “Jess has been thinking. I got a message from your father’s former boss in Vancouver this morning. He told me that the Demons who put out the hit list with you and your father on it won’t be a problem anymore. Someone on that list made it their business to wipe them out and stop whatever they were planning, and the bounties are now null and void. You and Jess could go home… if you want.”

I was stunned, but I could also see why Jess was so pensive. My sister stood more to gain from going back than I did. She could get back into acting, and now that she could control her shapeshifting better, she wouldn’t be limited to bunny roles. “So, what do you think, Sis?”

“I’m not sure. Do you want to go back?” she asked, looking at me as if afraid that I might make a different decision than her.

“That bounty was for Seth,” I said, not a doubt in my mind about where I wanted to be. “As far as I’m concerned, he died there, I’m not him anymore. I might want to visit someday, maybe visit Dad’s grave, but I wouldn’t want to live there anymore. It stopped being home when Dad died, and we went on the run. Home is where you are, Jess, it always has been. It’s where we have our girlfriends, friends, and this amazing family; two great moms, my daughter, a new sister, everyone else who works at the club, Sorcha, Carmen, and even Lou. I wouldn’t give this up for anything.”

My sister practically collapsed as she let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I have a girlfriend here, we’ve got plans to go to college together, and there’s you and everyone here at the club too. I was half afraid you’d go, even though I knew in my heart that you’d feel the same way I do, and I don’t want to be without my sister. Even when I start my acting career, I thought I would be living here between taking roles. Just as you said, home is where our family is, and that’s right here. I love you, Sis.”

“Love you too, Sis, and I always will. I love all of you,” I replied as she, Melody, and Selina all hugged me. In that same moment, Mom, Pandora, and Rhissa practically leaped from their own couch to join in on the group hug and show how much they cared as well. When they were all done crushing me and Jess, Mom and Pandora started talking about planning a party for that night to celebrate our decision to stay and all I could think was, “It’s good to be home.”