The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Few people knew that the Banshees were what the Elves had been in ancient times, before the emergeance of homo sapiens. None of those were without some trace of Elf or Banshee in their blood. This is of little comfort to Bonnie Blaze as she flees the mob of Elves pursuing her, like white humans often pursued black ones in the sixties. Elves had evolved away the ultrasonic keening which was trademark of Banshees, trading it instead for a certain measure of vocal control over the natural energy surrounding all things—they said they commanded Nature. They cursed Banshees as “inferior beings,” a throwback to ancient times, times better forgotten. Something moves in the shadows, and Bonnie Blaze disappears. The Elves stop in their tracks. Mutterings of “Enforcer!” ripple through the group. Fearing for their own lives, they disappear.

“Are you alright?” a voice asked. All was dark around Bonnie. She had no input from anywhere. There was only the voice.

“By the Goddess, where am I?” she asked, fearfully, her Irish accent thick in her terror.

“You are safe.” the voice said. “No one will hurt you here.” She had a feeling of arms around her, of a heart beating beneath her cheek. A comforting warmth enveloped her. Her pulse slowed, her breathing returned to normal. She began to relax. “I know that your fears are not without merit. Outside the pretection of this Shadow, you are as nothing to Elves. I can protect you for as long as you wish. All you need to do is share yourself with me.”

“How do I do that?” Bonnie asked. Blue eyes appeared. Soft, gentle, caring eyes which seemed to delve the depths of her soul, finding her inner pain and rubbing a soothing balm on it.

“I will take care of the details. All you have to do is agree to share.”

“Aye, yes, I agree.” She felt gentle hands caressing her. The eyes moved closer, closer, until they almost filled her vision.

“That’s all I need to know.” the voice said. The eyes moved to the side a little, tilting sideways. Bonnie felt a sharp pain in her neck, and her mouth was brought to a slit that this stranger had cut in his own jugular. As she began to drink, an erotic pleasure began to fill her mind. She felt herself building to climax, but the pleasure did not stop at the boundaries of ordinary sexual climax. She had a vague knowledge that her mind was linked to that of the other. Their pleasures combined, feeding and growing off of each other and increasing exponentially. She felt her body spasming. Her mind was swimming in a sea of pleasure. The other mind, stronger than hers, kept hold of her, anchoring her and keeping complete control of the situation. As the wound beneath her healed, she felt no abatement of the new hunger she now felt. An inner, primal part of her knew what to do. She extended newly-developed fangs, sinking them into the flesh beneath her, and the pleasure renewed and grew stronger. Finally, the other removed his fangs and commanded her without words to do the same. Bonnie’s last thought as consciousness left her was that everything was fine. She could feel her body changing, could feel new powers emerging, and through it all, a sense of well-being that superceded all else.

“Run!” Dara called to her parents. They stood rooted to the floor in shock. “Run!” she cried again. Her body swelled, tearing her clothes. Her human breasts were absorbed into her body to be replaced with canine tits on her stomach. Her nose and mouth elongated into a canine muzzle. “RUN!!” she snarled as the madness began to overtake her. The transformation was painful. The madness overtook her, and she took off in pursuit of her parents, a prisoner of her primal instincts. Something hit her hard in the right flank. Fangs sank into her neck. Beautiful, beautiful pain flowed through her, hand-in-hand with erotic pleasure. Her forepaws reverted to human hands. Her fur disappeared, her breasts returned. The transformation, while still far from comfortable, was no longer painful.

Drink. the unspoken command appeared in her mind, and she offered no resistance. She put her mouth to the wound in the other’s neck and let the pleasure overtake her as madness flowed away, routed by the human factor creeping back into her veins through the fangs in her neck.

Each new accquisition was a thrill. The powers of those he claimed blended and enhanced one another in unpredictable but stunning ways. Dara and Bonnie, his latest, lay in blissful sleep on the large bed he used for new arrivals. Renee and Tina were searching the suite that had been provided for them by the Enforcers, searching for a decent mirror and coming up nada. As they walked, every move oozed sexual energy. Jessie was highly tempting as she reclined on a fainting couch, eating an apple. Suzy hovered four feet in the air, looking through a copy of the Kama Sutra. Jade and Katarina were doing their best to comfort Moonseed, who was still getting used to her human emotions—or rather, trying to. Enforcers were not completely emotionless. They had the emotions that had served their species well as survival traits; fear, to escape predators, anger, to motivate them to action, lust (during the mating season), nervousness to keep them on their toes during a volatile situation, and happiness to keep them from groing crazy. Moonseed had to learn to cope with a great many new emotions and their interactions with one another. And she was also unused to becoming sexually aroused outside of mating season. Kevin was glad that his apprentices were not jealous of each other because of one aspect of Vampiric nature. Were it not for that, jealousy would be eating Moonseed alive. Her features were immensely more human. Her near-feline face had reshaped itself, giving her a gently tapered chin, high cheekbones, and dainty little nose. Her pupils alternated between round and slitted—as did all of their pupils, Kevin discovered. They tended to become slitted when their owner was acting on primal instinct.

“Moonseed.” Kevin said. Moonseed practically leaped to her Master’s side, her expression showing her willingness to do anything he wanted, with an inner confusion as to why. “Moonseed, I know you’re having trouble coping with your new human emotions.” he began. “Just relax. It will get better with time. Have you been practicing the transformations like I asked?”

“Yes.” Moonseed replied, demonstrating her wolf, bat and mink transformations (mink having been the last animal she had seen before being bitten).

“And what about the mist?” Kevin asked. Moonseed grimaced. Kevin couldn’t blame her. The sensation of dissipating oneself into billions of droplets of water was disconcerting to say the least. Kevin rarely did it himself. Moonseed misted, waiting for Kevin’s permission to reintegrate herself, though Kevin could sense her growing unease. “I have the same problem, Moonseed.” Kevin admitted. “We both have much to learn about that form if we are to use it successfully.” Moonseed reverted to her humanoid form, shivering.

“Master, after you shared the Werewolf and Banshee genes with us, I noticed I could assume were-versions of my transformations.” Moonseed said. Kevin had noticed the same thing, and though becoming a six-foot man-bat and an eight-foot man-tiger were as easy as becoming a two-foot wolf or a six-inch bat or a six-foot tiger, he had no desire to scare anyone but non-Repentant Vampires—or Vampire hunters who couldn’t tell the difference between a Vampire and a Transcendent.

“I’ve noticed the same thing.” Kevin said. “Pirondael has elements of Werewolf and Dragon in him. That explains the Were-Dragon form he uses in his den. What troubles me is...”

“Why doesn’t he shrink down to human size and come out?” Moonseed supplied. Kevin nodded. “The Enforcers have wondered the same thing. We have nothing concrete, but we think that the human baseline of his DNA has been lost.” Kevin felt a chill and whirled, fangs bared, eyes glowing. A young male Enforcer stood just behind him.

“Survival tip, squirt: Don’t sneak up on me.” Kevin said, retracting his fangs and forcing the red glow to recede from his eyes.

“I will remember that.” the youth promised. “Monkshood wants to speak with you.”

Fine, Kevin thought, I’ve given everyone else a piece of my time, might as well share with Monkshood too.

Monkshood’s chambers were spare and undecorated (such things as luxury and decoration being foreign concepts to a species with no concept of vanity). Monkshood himself looked just like his name suggested. He wore a black, hooded robe and had hooded eyes on his catlike face. Kevin was nicer to this particular Enforcer than he was to the others because he was, for all intents and purposes, the boss of Enforcers and his host. He was also Moonseed’s father. Though Kevin didn’t skimp on the niceties and respect that someone of Monkshood’s position deserved, he didn’t like Monkshood one little bit. The Enforcer’s manner was somewhere between Mr. Spock and Darth Vader. Like a baboon or a gorilla, Monkshood had gotten where he was at least partly through intimidation. The shielding required to hide his aura drew a black line around his body and made him look as if he had been electronically composited on the scene.

“You wanted to see me?” Kevin asked.

“Thank you for being so prompt.” Monkshood said. “I have a few things to ask you.”

“Ask away.”

“You spend half your time away from the Dwelling, and half the time you are here you spend training your apprentices, with no disturbances by us permitted during either amount of time except during an emergency. Half of the remainder is spent sleeping, during which time we might as well try to rouse a corpse. This leaves only one-eighth of each day during which we may call on you should we need some information. Why?”

“My time is not my own.” Kevin replied. “I have important work which must be done, and my apprentices must be trained, which doesn’t leave me much rest time.”

“So I’ve noticed.” Monkshood said. “Are you certain you can get by on three to four hours of sleep a day?”

“Not really, but at least for the short run I can use my Elven magic to heal my fatigue. I suppose you’ll want to discuss what I do during the twelve hours I’m out.”

“You spend most of it on that island you found, reshaping it in Elven fashion to fit an image you keep in your mind. If I’m not mistaken, such construction is very demanding on your magical reserves, especially when constructing a palace out of mist and light. And tonight you rescued one young Pretender and one human infected with Lycanthropy.”

“You know of the Elven instinct to craft with magic...” Kevin began.

“I know. That Elven longing to create has long been a subject of our fascination.” Monkshood said. “Meanwhile, Jessica, Renee and Tina do all the Vampire hunting and Katarina and Jade try to keep Moonseed calm, and your parents and siblings collect dust.”

“You want to know why I bother building a house when you’re being so generous as to give me and my family a suite right here in Enforcer Headquarters, the answer is that I don’t plan to live off of your generosity for the rest of my lifespan, however long that might be.”

“One other thing which bothers me is your temper. You frightened my messenger terribly when I sent him to get you. He didn’t show it, but after the encounter he was forced to clean his trousers.”

“How many times must I tell you people not to sneak up on me? No matter. You shan’t have to endure it much longer, Monkshood. You’ll be happy to know that I’m almost finished. We shall be gone before week’s end.” As Kevin began to leave, Monkshood called after him.

“Moonseed was given to you as apprentice to forge an alliance between our two peoples.” he said. “If this alliance is to continue...”

“We can be allies without being roommates, Monkshood.” Kevin said. “In fact, a little distance might actually improve relations between our peoples. I don’t know if you are aware of this, but the humanity which is a vital part of myself and my apprentices finds the Enforcer attitude to be quite the nuisance. Remember when Moonseed almost bit your head off? You’re overbearing, anal-retentive and reactionary, not to mention inconsiderate of human feelings, and, as much as I hate to say this because of the great respect I have for your position, Monkshood, you are the most arrogant of them all.”

“Your honesty is appreciated, Mr. Shadows.” Monkshood replied. “You’re right. Perhaps some physical distance is necessary for maintaining the peace.”

“I’m glad we agree.” Kevin said.

Kevin looked with pride on the home he had shaped with his magic. There were rooms for every ally he could ever need, and more, just in case. He had constructed a huge main hall for gatherings, a wall of around the outside for defense if any army should ever besiege it, towers from which could be cast whatever defensive spells might be needed, a dining hall with enough room for all the possible occupants of the house, and a few general-purpose buildings around the outside for whatever should need to be done. In the garden grew a mixture of desert, rainforest and temperate-zone plants, held in bloom and fruit by magic. In the center of the garden was a fountain made of ice from which lava sprayed in a continuous fiery display.

Now THAT is showing off. Kevin thought to himself. The palace itself (for palace it was, by Kevin’s own admission—the Taj Mahal to the next power) was forged of fire and ice, light and shadow, stone and mist, all shaped and formed together by magic. It was an amalgam of the powers which boiled within Kevin. In the main hall was a fountain of magically-shaped stone remade into the shape of a serene, white dragon which spouted pristine, clear water into a pool shaped to look like the hands of some maiden. In the pool were figures in various shades of undress, all looking happy.

“Well done, young man.” Kevin whirled to face the voice’s owner, and found himself looking at an Elf who, if he were human, would be somewhere in his seventies, dressed in all the trappings of a Medieval king. Kevin could see the family resemblance shared by all his children.

“King Oberon, what brings you here?” he asked.

“We have come at the invitation of your mother, and to satisfy our own curiosity.” Oberon replied. “The merest illusion of your presence is enough to send Vampires scurrying into the shadows. We wished to know what kind of powers could do such things.” Kevin let the shadow hiding his aura recede so that the Elf Royal could see how powerful he was—but only for a moment, lest the glaring, seven-foot flame attract unwanted attention. It was enough. Involuntarily, Oberon had taken several steps back.

“Satisfied?” Kevin asked.

“Indeed.” Oberon said. “We suspect that it would be much brighter were you at full strength.”

“Perhaps. I don’t make a habit of admiring my aura. Unhealthy in times like this, don’t you know.”

“You speak wisely, for one so young.” Oberon said. Then, with a glance at the building, continued, “And your instinct is remarkable. Truly, the gene for mystic crafting is in you.” A trio of figures appeared at Oberon’s side. One of the Elves, a female, went to Oberon’s side immediately. She was dressed in royal attire as well, so Kevin guessed her to be the Queen Titania. His mother was whispering animatedly to an Elf male who could have been anywhere from eighteen to twenty-five were he human. Kevin directed a low bow to the Queen.

“The Queen Titania, I presume.” he said.

“You presume correctly, dear boy.” Titania said. Her eyes were drawn to the structure behind Kevin. “Marvelous workmanship.” she muttered.

“Kevin, I want you to meet my father.” his mother said, giving the Elf male a slight nudge so he would step forward. “Robin Goodfellow, also called...”

“Puck.” Kevin finished, shaking hands with the Trickster. “This is so cool. I just finished the new house, and already I’ve got the three coolest visitors in the world.” The purebred Elves smiled at the compliment. Oberon, using one of the rhyming spells for which his people were famous, caused a rock to reshape itself into a curved bench on which they could sit and talk. Kevin used some of his remaining energy to conjure cushions for the King and Queen. Oberon launched into a speech regarding an alliance between Avalon and Kevin’s Transcendants. Kevin informed the King that such an alliance would have to include the Enforcers as well. Oberon didn’t show his surprise through any physical nuance, but his aura began to dance like a bonfire in the wind.

“Surely my mother told you where we had been hiding.”

“She neglected to mention it.” Oberon replied in a tone that could easily have been used to say “Nice day today.” After about ten minutes of discussion, for which Kevin’s aching legs were grateful, Titania asked Oberon to excuse her and Kevin. They walked along the shores of the island, gazing out at the wall of mists and shadows which Kevin had erected to protect it against Vampire invaders.

“Kevin, there is much my granddaughter has been unable to teach you.” Titania said. “Unlike my husband, I keep tabs on my halfling grandchildren and their descendents. I know what you have learned, and most of all, I know what you have not. You know that Banshees are the ancestors of the Elves. What you do not know is that they are the common anscestors of Elves and Pixies.”

“After all that’s happened to me recently, I’m not a bit surprised.” Kevin said.

“If you truly are gathering powers for a final battle against Pirondael, your next move should be to claim as apprentice a Pixie Queen. They live in hives like bees, and range in size from one to three inches tall. The Queen is four and a half feet tall, dwarving all her children. She maintains a telepathic link with them and serves as the center of intelligence. The reason I tell you this is because, unlike Elves, who chant rhyming spells to use the power of Nature, Pixies do it with a mere thought or a whim.”

Something caught Kevin’s eye. A faint, blue light, growing fainter. He hurried forward in search of the source, and found that the light was the fading aura of a Pixie that had washed up on the beach. It was an inch and a half tall, he guessed, and definitely female. He picked the tiny person up in his hands. His enhanced senses told him her heart wasn’t beating, and that she wasn’t breathing. How do you do CPR on someone less than two inches tall? he wondered. Kevin did his best, pressing a finger into the tiny chest to get the heart going, and putting his mouth over the tiny face to get air into the lungs. Finally the little one began to cough. Kevin muttered a healing spell—it wouldn’t take much energy, since she was so small. The Pixie coughed up about six drops of seawater before she stopped. Kevin managed to get her to a sitting position on his hand. The tiny being looked up at Kevin in awe. She was still weak, so Kevin put her in his shirt pocket for safekeeping.

“Oberon’s not going to like this.” Titania said. “Elves don’t get along well with Pixies. They set traps in the forest and...” Kevin silenced her with a glance.

“I’m not one of his Elves that he can order around.” Kevin replied.

“True.” Titania replied.

“What else can you tell me about Pixies?” Kevin asked.

“They are highly sensual.” Titania said. “They live from moment to moment, deriving some sort of purpose from the almost compulsive need to experience new sensations. Without their telepathic link to their Queen, they’d get lost in everyday sensations and be so distracted that they’d never get anything done, and the hive would starve.

“There’s something else you should know.” she continued. “Elves and Pixies are two of the three races who derived from Banshee stock in ancient times. That is why we are called the Third Race, though most modern humans believe it refers to humans, Vampires and Oberon’s Children. It actually refers to Ithnari, Pixies, and Avaloni, the proper name for the children of Avalon.”

“Ithnari?” Kevin asked.

“Ithnari are the little people, though that title has since gone to the Leprechauns. They averaged about a foot tall. They are the descendents of Banshee who were transported by wild magic to another land, one with much higher gravity than may be found here. As a consequence, they became much more compact, and though they were only a foot tall when they finally returned to Earth, they were as strong as Ogres, and very fast. On earth they leap across the terrain in titanic bounds, covering miles in minutes. Living in the shadow of the other races, they quickly learned the scavenger’s life, stealing and hoarding precious objects like packrats. They played tricks on humans to extort gifts from them. Their needle-like teeth make quite a painful bite, and their fingernails are evolved for climbing the flanks of large prey. A villageful of them can down an elephant if they don’t have anyone around to steal from. Oberon quickly saw them as a threat and banished most of them back to Ithnar.”

“Dynamite in a small package.” Kevin muttered.

“What little magic they have is specialized toward their main occupations; stealing and hiding.”

“Are there any left?” Kevin asked.

“If there are, there won’t be for long if Oberon finds out.”

“Thank you, Titania.” Kevin said. “This conversation has been most informative. But I’ve gotten the itch to build magically out of my system for a while. I need to collect my friends and get some rest.”

“I understand.” Titania replied. “Peaseblossom and Mustardseed tell me that you have assigned your apprentice Renee to shield the area within a five-mile radius of the school with a spell that blinds Ghouls and Skeletons.”

“Anonymity is my best defense.” Kevin said.

With the Elf Royals gone and his apprentices busy moving their belongings from the Enforcer hive, Kevin finally had some time to himself. He sealed the door to the room he jokingly thought of as his Fortress of Solitude and stretched out on a fainting couch. The tiny Pixie crawled out of his pocket.

“Thank you for saving me.” she said. She hovered over him, her dragonfly-like wings shimmering like pearls. “My name is Krystal.”

“Mine’s Kevin.” Kevin replied. “And I think we both need rest.” He had almost gotten to sleep when he felt her tiny hand prodding him.

“Can’t sleep.” she said. “No Queen. No one. Too quiet in my head.”

Sleep. he commanded telepathically. Her mind, accustomed to obeying her Queen’s telepathic commands, folded like a kite, and she instantly went limp. Her breathing slowed down to near-imperceptibility. He maintained a slight contact, enough to keep her from waking up due to the mental silence.

Kevin hadn’t thought of himself as overtly attractive before. He’d hypnotized Tina and Renee into sleeping with him, and Jessie’s frustration had worked in his favor when it came to getting laid. As he made his way to the beautician’s college—one of the less expensive places to get a haircut within the radius of the spell Renee had cast—he was conscious of being stared at by the women in the mall. His sharp hearing picked up mutterings of “Oh, my gawd, he’s so cute” and the like. It was quite embarassing, yet at the same time, he was also flattered. As he entered the college, several of the younger students began to gape openly.

As he made known to the older lady behind the counter what he wanted, several students were already fighting over which of them would perform the service. Kevin silenced them with a gesture, and strode over to one of the women who hadn’t been fighting. She was a petite little thing about five feet tall, maybe less, with a nice figure and a pair of breasts that stood out well without support. She had brown hair and eyes and a cute little face, but more than that, she had a mousy demeanor and obvious low self-esteem, which was why she hadn’t joined the fight. She didn’t feel herself worthy of doing a service on an exotic such as Kevin.

“Perhaps you can help me.” he said, handing her the slip of paper which held his instructions.

“Me?” she half-squeaked. “Um, uh, I, um...”

“Relax,” he said, adding a little hypnotic power to calm her, “I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

“Okay.” she said, smiling a little. Kevin congratulated himself silently. His little Svengali impersonation had set a new personal record for subtlety.

Kevin fell asleep during the shampoo set. He hadn’t meant to, but he had been overexerting himself lately, and she really was good. When she woke him for the haircut, he was rather embarrassed. She calmly ushered him to the haircutting chair and kept him awake with a lively conversation while she cut. When she finished, Kevin smiled. His head felt much lighter, not to mention cooler.

“Thanks.” he said, handing her a tip. “You’re really quite good.”

“Really?” she asked. “Thank you!”

Kevin felt strange being back in school. After his recent experiences, he felt like he didn’t belong. Certainly some of the things he heard the other students talking about didn’t interest him as much as they would have last year.

If I hadn’t been born a Pretender, I could be over there with the other kids worrying about who I’m going to take to prom in Spring. he thought to himself. You kids don’t know how good you have it. Kevin was shocked at the way his thoughts sounded. Geez, listen to me, I sound like someone’s grandfather.

Jessie, Renee, Tina and Suzy weren’t adjusting well to the illusion spell which concealed their true hair color from the other students. Kevin had insisted they wear a glamour so that other students wouldn’t be questioning them about their hair. Their innate sexiness was not hidden, however, and they constantly hounded by lovelorn boys. Even the male teachers were copping a glance when they could. Kevin was having the same problem with the females. He wore no glamour because everyone knew he had always had shockingly silver hair which wouldn’t take color no matter how hard he tried.

“Gee whiz, Kev, you look downright mature.” Paul asked. Paul was one of Kevin’s friends from his sophomore year. He was amazed at how...young Paul seemed.

“Yeah, well, things’ve been happening lately. Or maybe I’m just tired.”

“Wanna talk about it, buddy?”

“I’m not sure I can.” Kevin said.

“C’mon, Kev, we’ve been friends for almost two years now.”

“I remember. You decided to get close to me so you could learn the secret of how I seduced the unseducible Bitch Cop of the Parking Lot.”

“And from those humble beginnings sprang the friend that pulled your butt out of the fire when you kept falling asleep in math class, that was your gopher when you kept forgetting to go to the store and buy stuff for your science project, that TASTED YOUR FOOD TO MAKE SURE IT WASN’T POISONED!” Paul said in a voice rather like the narrator from Superfriends. Kevin laughed. It felt good.

“Alright, alright, you win. At break, on the roof of the auditorium.”

Kevin was waiting for Paul when he arrived. He’d spent some time thinking about what exactly he was going to tell Paul about his life. Krystal, who was currently hiding in his pocket, wasn’t much help, but then, when one’s mind was geared toward two things—processing new sensations and receiving telepathic commands from the Queen—there wasn’t room for much else. Kevin, at length, decided to start with a brief description of the various races, followed by a much abbreviated version of the story of how Kevin came to be the first member (and only male) of a brand new race. Paul, for his part, listened politely, but still seemed rather skeptical. Kevin summoned Krystal from his pocket, and the skepticism left Paul’s face.

“So can mind-control Jessie Schiff, and you’re the only one who can do it? Cool!”

“There’s more to it than that.” Kevin said. “Every superhero has his nemesis. Mine’s name is Pirondael.”

“Sounds like a derivative of French bread.” Paul said.

“But he looks more like a derivative of pure evil.” Kevin replied. “Think evil dragon meets Spawn meets the final boss from Earthworm Jim.”

“Eew.” Paul said.

“To top it all off, he’s several thousand years old, and he wants me dead.”

“It’s always something.” Paul said. “Just when you think you’ve got it made, something else shows up to queer the deal.” Krystal was busily examining Paul’s ear, and Paul, unconsciously, batted her away. She managed to stop herself from hitting the rooftop, but only barely.

“Are you okay, Krystal?” Kevin asked as the tiny person landed on his palm.

“I’ve been hurt worse.” Krystal said. “He didn’t even break a bone.”

“Geez, I feel so stupid.” Paul said. “Sorry ‘bout that, fairy.”

“My name is Krystal, and I’m a Pixie.” Krystal replied, offended. “Faerie’s a place, not a species.”

“Easy, Krystal.” Kevin said, calming her telepathically. He returned her to his pocket and leaned back.

“So what’s it like having an Elf for a mom?”

“Just try keeping track of everything that might have cold iron in it, just for a day.” Kevin challenged. “Other than that, great. She’s really smart when it comes to teaching about the Elf powers. She doesn’t hang around as much as she used to, though. She’s still too busy catching up with her father and trying to get this whole sister-thing worked out.”

“What ‘sister-thing?’”

“Apparently I’ve got a big sister hidden somewhere, and she’s trying to arrange things so she can bring her into our little protective circle.”

“Cool. Is she cute?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen her.” Kevin said. Suddenly there was the sound of footsteps behind Kevin. He turned to find his birth mother walking across the roof, with his adoptive mother in tow.

“Did you have to make it so that no one could teleport within the spell’s range?” his birth mother asked.

“There’s a gate in the supply closet.” Kevin replied.

“Thanks for telling me beforehand.” his mother replied sarcastically.

“Hello, Paul.” Kevin’s adoptive mother said softly. “It’s been a while.”

“So what’s up?” Kevin asked.

“She wanted to check on some of her old friends.” his birth mother said, gesturing to his adoptive mother. Kevin got up and approached the mousier of his two mothers gently, and spoke in a gentle, nonthreatening tone.

“Mama, I already told you, we’re in hiding. As long as Pirondael’s still out for my hide you’re in danger, especially outside of protected areas.”

“What happens if he finds out who I was friends with? I couldn’t live with myself if I found out that I was responsible for innocent people’s deaths.”

“That’s what the protective runes are for.” Kevin said. “Didn’t Moonseed give them to you? There was enough in that box for a hundred friends of friends of friends of friends.”

“I’ve been avoiding her.” his adoptive mother admitted. “She scares me. It’s like having a pregnant woman in the house, with all the mood swings, except she’s armed to the teeth with powers and superhuman strength.” Kevin sighed. He could already hear Paul climbing down the ladder. Four’s a crowd, huh, Paul? Kevin thought. I don’t blame you.

“This is so cool!” Paul exclaimed as Kevin flew like a missile through the night. Paul clung to Kevin’s back for dear life, loving the adrenaline rush. Kevin arced downwards and set down on a roof. Paul had lost his Bulls cap about a mile into the flight, but he didn’t care. The cap was a small price to pay for the kind of rush you could only get from riding without a cockpit at several hundred miles per hour. Kevin had kept his airspeed down to avoid tearing Paul’s clothes with wind resistence.

“Welcome to my world, Paul.” Kevin said. “See that whore on the street over there? Notice anything weird about her?”

“Yeah. Whores don’t kiss.” Paul replied.

“Besides that.” Kevin said. Paul looked again.

“That’s weird.” Paul muttered. “It looks almost like she’s floating.”

“That happens when a Succubus feeds.” Kevin said. “The pleasure of the feeding causes them to lose some of their control and they start to fly from the sheer ecstasy of it all.”

“Weird.” Paul said. “What’s with that guy?” Kevin glanced in the direction Paul was pointing.

“An Ogre.” Kevin said, with almost as much hatred in his voice as if he had been speaking of the majority of Vampires. “And he’s hunting.” He leaped across the gap between buildings with an ease Paul envied (barely making it himself). Kevin was already battling the Ogre when Paul had reached a halfway decent vantage point. The child that the Ogre had targeted watched in horrified fascination. A brick fell as Paul put his hand on it. It hit the Ogre over the head. Enraged, the Ogre looked up, glaring hatefully out of its three mad eyes, giving Kevin the perfect opportunity to finish it off. He scooped the child up in his arms and leapt to the roof where Paul was.

“You okay, honey?” Kevin asked. The girl looked up as if seeing Kevin for the first time, and she managed to nod. “What’s your name?” he asked. She didn’t respond. When Kevin repeated himself, she closed her eyes, and her face turned red.

“Promise you won’t make fun?” she asked.

“It’s a promise.” Kevin said.

“It’s Kitty.” she said, embarrassed. “Kitty Mowry. Everybody calls me Kitty Meow-Meow.”

“Okay, Kitty, let’s get you home.” Kevin said. Suddenly a Vampiric warcry split the night, and Kevin’s attention was diverted toward the northeastern sky. “Paul, there’s a fire escape on the north side of this building. Take Kitty down to the street and get her home. I’ll call you on your cell phone later. I’ve got something that needs doing.”

“Gotcha.” Paul said. Kevin took off for the sky, and Kitty watched, fascinated. “Kitty?”

“Hmm?” Kitty asked.

“I want you to promise to keep this little encounter to yourself, okay?”

“Why?”

“Because it’s safer for everybody that way.” Paul said. “You understand about superheroes with secret identities, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Good.” Paul said. “You understand why secret identities are important?”

“So heroes can go to the store without somebody trying to shoot them.” Kitty replied.

“Close enough.” Paul replied, escorting her toward the fire escape.

Kevin found the Vampires—twelve in all—assaulting someone from a species Kevin didn’t know existed. Her clothing was very Medieval looking, and she looked very human, except for the pure white, angelic wings protruding from her back. Her wingspan was about sixteen feet, Kevin guessed, but it was hard to tell the way she kept moving. Kevin dispatched the Vampires using a sword forged of magically-created sunlight, and the stranger was safe. Now all he had to do was convince her of that. She departed as hastily as Kevin had ever seen someone depart. Her wings pumped furiously as she tried desperately to escape. Kevin teleported, but she seemed to sense what was happening, and before he could grab her, she had veered off in another direction. She dove low over a crowd of people, and, thinking quickly, Kevin made himself look like Superman before pursuing. Tomorrow’s tabloids would feature several eyewitness reports of people seeing Superman chasing an angel. Kevin chuckled a little at the thought. He finally captured the whatever-she-was four hours and several hundred miles later. He brought her inside a shadow for the sake of privacy.

“Who...what are you?” he asked.

“I am...not as helpless as you would think!” With that, she emitted a dazzling burst of light that hurt Kevin’s sensitive eyes, but not for long. The Enforcer powers he had acquired when he had claimed Moonseed allowed him to recover quickly.

“I’m not an enemy.” Kevin said. “I don’t serve Pirondael like those Vampires do. As a matter of fact, he and I fought each other to a standstill...sort of.”

“How can you fly without wings?” she asked.

“Telekinetic levitation.” Kevin replied. “I just concentrate and push away with my mind. I can understand how you’d be curious.”

“I guess it doesn’t matter.” the angelic person said. “I am alone...the last of my kind. I thought only to keep my powers from falling into Vampiric hands.”

“Good.” Kevin said. “Goodness knows that punk’s got enough powers already, he doesn’t need any more. Or rather, I don’t need for him to get any more. My life’s hard enough.” She actually smiled a little at that. “What’s your name?”

“Nina.” she said. “My kind once soared the skies above Atlantis, where we evolved, but the island sank and only a few hundred of us escaped. The rest went down with the island, many said on purpose. Those of us that were left kept track of each other, taking great pains to prevent our powers from falling into the hands of the Vampires. We were the Win-lan, mistaken by humans for angels because of our beautiful wings and our power over the elements.”

“If you want to keep your powers out of Vampiric hands, Nina of the Win-lan, you’ll need to be able to defend yourself better.”

“You have any suggestions?” Nina asked.

“A couple.”

Nina awoke slowly, feeling an odd sensation, as though liquid pleasure were flowing through her veins. Even before her eyes opened, she sensed the presence of her Master standing over her. She smiled as she opened her eyes.

“Good morning, Nina.” he said. “Sleep well?” She nodded.

“I’ve never had an experience like that before.” she said.

“Are you glad not to have to be alone anymore?” he asked.

“Do you really have to ask?”

“No.” Kevin replied. “Just making conversation.”

“So when do I get to meet the others?” she asked.

“When they wake up.” he replied. “It’s four in the morning.”

“Sounds like we’ve got some time to kill.” Nina said, gently running her fingers through the feathers of Kevin’s beautiful new wings.

“I guess we do.” Kevin said. “When you’re a little more skilled, we’ll take you outside, so I guess I should show you how you can pass for human.”

“You mean like with a trench coat or something?” Nina asked.

“Not exactly.” Kevin replied. “You see, the Werewolf aspect of the powers I shared with you allows us to alter our shape beyond that which was allowed by the ordinary transformations available to me before I started gathering powers. Your Win-lan genes give us wings. The Werewolf genes give us the ability to hide them. I’ve been practicing. Watch.” With that, the wings Nina had just been admiring contracted and were absorbed into his back, then they sprouted once more. “Now you try. Concentrate on the change. It will get easier, trust me.” Nina concentrated, feeling her wings absorbing into her back, and suddenly she looked like a silver haired human wearing Halloween not-quite-Vulcan ears. Kevin moved closer to her, his eyes full of promise. She pulled him down on her in a warm embrace, reading every hint of what his eyes were telling her. Nina looked to her Master with longing, and he did not disappoint. He slid easily into her moist slit, filling her gently. She looked into his eyes and saw the power there. Hypnotic power, taking advantage of her natural submissiveness to him. She felt her will beginning to melt. “Concentrate on the pleasure.” he told her. She obeyed, her focus moving to the place where their bodies met. As his eyes continued to entrance her, she felt him move within her. Each motion sent electric thrills through her body. Her hypnotically sensitive body felt each beat of the heart that filled the penis within her with blood to stiffen it. As he began to caress her breasts and kiss her, the pleasure drove her toward orgasm. She exploded again and again, each orgasm bringing forth a new one almost before the previous one had subsided. Nina felt consciousness fading as he slipped out of her and released his hold on her mind.

Krystal rode in Kevin’s pocket as he walked through the park. She was trying to work out the strange feelings she was having for him. Kevin was hunting. He suddenly felt his feet restrained and looked down. There didn’t seem to be anything amiss about the ground beneath his feet. The only odd thing was a ring of mushrooms surrounding his current position.

Ring of mushrooms? Kevin thought. Oh, shit!

Kevin came to in a dark cavern. Krystal was gone.

“Krystal?” he called. He heard tiny voices giggling. “Krystal?”

“What is she to you?” a soft, gentle voice asked.

“That is none of your business.” Kevin snarled.

“Really, now, there’s no need for hostility.” the voice said. Light flared into existence before Kevin’s eyes, and two four-foot Pixies hovered above thrones across the room, surrounded by thousands of tiny, common Pixies. A shaft of light held one small Pixie transfixed. “The foreign Pixie which came with you is right here. We were going to think up a wonderfully entertaining execution for her.

“She is not yours to execute.” Kevin said. “She is mine.”

“What gives you the right to make demands in my mother’s hive?” demanded the younger of the two Pixies. Kevin withdrew the shadow from his aura. The Pixies that had been closest to him retreated. The elder Pixie, whom Kevin guessed to be the Queen, and the one who had spoken, gestured gently.

“Calm yourself, Ephremelda.” she said. “You as well, powerful one. You wouldn’t want to attract Vampires to our little hive, would you?” Kevin once again shaded his aura.

“Return Krysta to me.” Kevin said. “Or you’ll wish it was only Vampires you were facing.”

“We don’t want an incident.” the elder Pixie said, and the beam of light approached Kevin, bringing the transfixed Krystal with it, to stop directly in front of him. Kevin got no reading on her telepathically. Her mind seemed to have been shut down beyond even comatose. Her eyes were closed, and her expression was that of the sleeper or the deeply entranced. The beam shifted colors, and Krystal’s body rotated so that her feet were pointing toward Kevin. The beam retracted so it was holding her suspended. Krystal was lowered into Kevin’s hand and then the beam disappeared. With a gentle mental nudge from Kevin, her mind reawakened and she was able to return to his pocket, suddenly afraid of the strange hive around her. “Your pet is safely back in your possession.” the Queen Pixie said. Now that his charge was no longer in danger, he could take time to look over the Royal Pixies in more detail. Each was about four feet tall, the Queen apparently about thirty-five, the Princess apparently about sixteen. They were dressed alike, in natural clothes that seemed designed not to hide their nakedness, but enhance it. His gaze rested on the Princess, who was wearing an odd top made from the veins of leaves, which cupped her luscious breasts and lifted them up as though offering them to him. The leggings were made from vines, which curved around the smooth calves of the Princess, up the supple thighs and seemed to point out the vagina to any innocent who couldn’t find it on his own. The Princess didn’t seem to have any hair growing below her neck, and her raven hair was cut in the same style as Nina’s.

“I see you’re examining my daughter.” the Queen said. “I am glad you appreciate great beauty when you see it, for you will be spending a great deal of time with her.”

“Excuse me?” Kevin asked.

“The time has come for Ephremelda to start a hive of her own. For that, she needs a mate. She has asked me to let her have you, and I have agreed.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Kevin asked.

“You’re already having ‘your say,’ boy. Do you think we can’t see your erection?” Kevin glanced down, and sure enough, he was rock-hard from looking at the Princess. “You are indeed powerful. Ephremelda’s hive will be an object of envy among the Pixies. Come, now, my children. Your sister would like some time alone with her new husband.” The Pixies filed out, leaving Kevin alone with Ephremelda.

“Dear, dear one, you must be famished.” Ephremelda said. “Won’t you have something to eat? I’m sure you will find it quite impossible to teleport out.” Indeed, it seemed all of Kevin’s Elven powers were blocked. He sat down at the table Ephremelda conjured. “We had to take such measures to prevent Elven invasions.” she explained. “I honestly don’t know why they can’t get along with us. But you’re different. Once you saw there was nothing to fear, you withdrew hostilities. You don’t seem to be holding a grudge, and you seem quite reasonable. And you’re really cute, too!” This last was said in a half-dreamy tone that told Kevin she was looking forward to what was coming.

“You realize this Pixie enchantment you’re using only blocks my Elven powers. I still have several sets of others I could use to escape if I wanted.”

“But you’re not.” Ephremelda said. “I don’t find that surprising. Stay here, my dear, my own, and a lifetime of pleasure will be yours.”

“I’m not the submissive type.” Kevin said.

“You’ll learn.” Ephremelda said. “Eat. You’ll need your energy, because we’re going to be at it all night.” Kevin ate. There were all manner of pleasant things on the table. One thing to be said for the Pixies, they didn’t do anything halfway. The fare ranged from bubbling berry pies to chicken strips and cream gravy and even modern dishes like Frito Pie. Ephremelda soon led him from the table to a mushroom-bed she conjured. It was soft as they sat, but they didn’t remain sitting long. Ephremelda straddled him, transporting his clothes to the other side of the chamber, with Krystal among them. There was a sexual hunger in her eyes, and Kevin’s own sexuality responded. He rolled, moving her to the bottom. He could see a tinge of fear in her expression as she realized she was no longer in control.

“Relax.” Kevin said, opening his mind to her as his hypnotic power activated. “Relax.” he said again, and she did relax as her will became subject to his own. “You are a fine gift. I must remember to thank your mother before we leave.”

“I...gift...” Ephremelda said softly as her trance deepened.

“Let go, Ephremelda. Feel yourself let go as you give in to me. Give yourself to me.”

“Give...” Ephremelda whispered, barely audibly. Kevin inserted himself in Ephremelda’s ready vulva, and she gasped as he penetrated. The gasp quickly became a series of moans as he moved in and out of her, caressing her breasts and tweaking her nipples as he did so. He prolonged the pleasure for several hours before he fired a wad of jism inside her. Her orgasm was powerful and left her weak, but fortunately, not too weak for what came next. Kevin opened a cut in his neck and brought her mouth to it.

“Drink, Ephremelda.” he said, as his fangs extended. He sank his fangs into her neck as she began to suckle at the wound in his. When his wound healed, thanks to his fantastic healing powers, he gave the gentle mental nudge, which would remind her to sink her newly-developed fangs into him, thus completing the connection and sharing her powers with him. He had become accustomed to the gentle pleasure-pain which accompanied the act. He ceased to drink from her and allowed her to continue suckling until she passed out, her body already changing, growing taller as the Pixie genes which kept her short gave way to the human side of Transcendent nature. Kevin allowed his wings to sprout and spread, stretching them with the relaxed air of one who was quite satisfied with himself. He felt his wings changing and conjured a mirror. His angelic wings seemed to shift, becoming more membranous, like those of a dragonfly, and finally he sat on the bed Ephremelda had conjured with two pair of Pixie-like wings. A simple shift of will was all that was needed to revert them back to their previous angelic state, and he experimented with shifting back and forth, and even having both kinds on his back at the same time. Finally he retracted them into himself, satisfied with that aspect of his new powers. He heard a tiny voice behind him and turned to find Krystal weeping as she sat on his clothes. He summoned her to him with a thought, and in an eyeblink knew the nature of her sadness. Using his will now instead of rhyming spells, Kevin increased Krystal’s size so she hovered before him, in her spidersilk caftan, the size of a Pixie Queen, her face lighting up as she realized what he was about to do.

Ephremelda’s eyes fluttered open. She noticed Kevin snoozing on a beanbag in one corner of the room and decided to sit in his lap, realizing that she was happier as his apprentice than she would have been merely having him as husband/prisoner. She knew instantly they were at his home and not the Pixie Hive where she had been born and raised. She draped first one leg then another over the edge of the bed, and stood. Her body felt strange. She started to walk but tripped over her own legs. New healing powers made the minor scrapes disappear, but her pride was wounded. She felt like a failure—a Queen who couldn’t even walk. She began to weep, and her weeping woke Kevin.

“Having a little trouble adjusting to the new proportions?” Kevin asked. It was then that Ephremelda finally stretched her legs out before her and got a good look at them.

“By the Goddess!” she exclaimed. “How did they get so long?”

“You’re part human now.” Kevin explained. “You were at the maximum height for Pixies, but now that you’re a Transcendent, the bar’s been raised, and your body adjusted accordingly.”

“Oh.” Ephremelda said.

“Krystal will be awakening shortly. Would you like to greet her when she does—and warn her about the proportions thing?”

“I’d be delighted.” Ephremelda said happily, taking her place in her Master’s lap.

Sven had the creature cornered, and in its own cave yet! For being only a couple of centuries short of two thousand years old, this Dragon was rather inexperienced. The recent volcanic eruption that had driven her and her clutchmates from their cave had been a boon to Sven Monsterhunter. He had sworn years ago on his sister’s grave to rid the world of those beings that pretended to be human, taking a new name to symbolize his new occupation, and for forty years he had hunted all Pretenders with a vengeance. The ability to hide in a crowd by transforming herself into a human would not save this dragon, no matter how pretty she was. Sven had her in his sights, and the rune about his neck protected him against her fire.

“Back to hell with you, Dragon!” he exclaimed, squeezing the trigger. Her tail caught him off guard, and his Dragonbane-tipped quarrel merely nicked her shoulder. She dashed past him, roaring as she did so. “Careless!” he scolded himself. He followed her ot of the cave and smiled as he watched her fly away. She wouldn’t get far. A Dragon’s allergy to Dragonbane was so strong that even a small dose would put her into shock. Sven mounted his midnight-black steed and followed. Only a few hundred miles of hard riding later, he found the downed Dragon, kicking futilely, her magical metabolism disrupted. He chuckled softly to himself as he cocked and loaded his crossbow for the killing blow. Suddenly something knocked him off his horse. His crossbow was shattered and in pieces. He glared angrily at the figure which had attacked him. A male figure with silver hair and angelic wings hovered above him.

“I don’t care what your reasons for attacking this Dragon are. Your attack is to end now.” the man (if man he was) declared with an authoritive air Sven would have associated with King Oberon.

“Says who?” Sven demanded.

“Says me.” the figure replied.

“And who are you?”

“My name is none of your concern.” the figure replied. “I recommend you leave immediately, lest something besides your weapons lie shattered on the ground.”

“Big mistake, whoever-you-are.” Sven said. “Now you’ve made me angry!” He drew a knife made of a silver-iron alloy which had been dipped in Dragonbane and wolfsbane and enough other poisons that it would be effective against any non-spirit Pretender. He hurled the knife at the winged figure, who retaliated with a silver Chinese throwing star that pinned the knife to the ground, and a dagger of ice that pierced Sven’s right arm.

“Last chance.” the figure said.

“Fuck you!” Sven replied, touching a healing rune to the wound. Instantly, his wound was healed. He drew a silver object from his belt and touched a button. The device was a combination of science and sorcery. Scientific principles governed its circuitry, but magic provided the power and allowed the laser beam to be focused into a blade. He remounted his horse and bade it jump. It leaped high into the air and he slashed with his blade. The Pretender parried with a blade of his own and used his free hand to bat Sven from his horse.

“You are not a Jedi yet.” the figure said with a smirk.

“You mock me?” Sven snarled. “I’ll dance on your grave, Pretender.”

“In a pig’s eye you will.” With that, the figure produced a ball of silver fire and hurled it to the ground. Sven managed to get out of the way, but the explosion sent him flying. He hit the ground hard, and lost consciousness cursing the figure.

Kevin landed beside the Dragon and retracted his wings.

Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay... he pleaded silently.

Too late. the Dragon’s mental voice said. Too weak...feel...self...going...shock...

“No! Don’t go into shock!” Kevin said. “Concentrate. Concentrate on my voice. Concentrate on transforming into your human disguise.”

Can’t...

“Don’t give me that. Concentrate!” The Dragon closed her eyes and concentrated. She managed to get into her human disguise, but only barely, before she felt herself slipping into shock. “Concentrate! Hold the shape.” She concentrated. She felt her mouth pushed against an open wound. She felt fangs sink into her human neck. The Dragonbane wound in her shoulder hurt so much it was difficult to think...to concentrate. She felt herself slipping into a half-thinking mode. He gave the orders, she did her best to carry them out. The wound at her mouth healed, and, saddened at the loss, she did what came naturally. She bit, sinking fangs she hadn’t even known she’d had into the neck before her. The pleasure was incredible, and she was genuinely feeling better. She’d never felt such pleasure in all her eighteen hundred years.

What’s your name? he asked in her mind.

Alicia. she replied.

I’m Kevin.

Sven Monsterhunter awoke some time later. Anger boiled to the surface as memories of his humiliating defeat at the hands of that winged Pretender boiled to the surface. He found the place where his sabre had landed, and resheathed it. He found his steed in pieces against a boulder. A fine, steel beast, the likes of which have never before been built by human hands, reduced to a pile of sparking scrap by a Pretender. It seems such a waste. he thought. I shall have the last laugh, Pretender. This I swear.

Sensed a presence above her. She rolled onto her back and found Kevin standing over her. His smile warmed Alicia’s heart from within, though she didn’t know why.

“Good morning, Alicia.” he said. “Sleep well?”

“I...I feel strange.” Alicia said.

“It was either this or let you die, and I’m not big on letting good sentient beings die.”

“What did you do?” Alicia asked. A word kept popping up in her head. A word she refused to admit to, but was there nonetheless. Master. The thought of a Dragon calling someone Master seemed appalling, and yet, she’d never felt this way before...so warm and happy, just from seeing someone...and why this particular someone? Why did she find herself wanting to call him Master? What was it about him that made her feel so docile...submissive...

“It’s okay, Alicia. I know these feelings seem rather un-Dragon-like, but I’m told it’s to be expected when one’s thought patterns are so fundamentally different from those of a human.” He caressed her face, and Alicia’s cares seemed to melt away. This was definitely unDragonlike, but she didn’t care. She liked it.

Jubilation Hamilton was enjoying this. After all this time, she had finally tracked down the Vampire who had brought her across, and now she had him on the run. Sonja chased behind her, begging her to stop. Jubilation ignored her. So what if Kevin had assigned them to each other, student and teacher? So what if Jubilation was supposed to be learning from Sonja? She had already learned all she could from the older Vampiress. Now she would have her revenge. Jubilation rounded a corner, and found herself face-to-face with forty or so Vampires.

So this is what Sonja was trying to warn me about. Jubilation thought as she turned to run. A gout of flame incinerated the Vampires—all but the one that Jubilation wanted. A silver Dragon landed where the Vampires had been, then reverted to the humanoid form of...Kevin?

“What the...?” Jubilation stammered.

“I sensed you’d want to off that one yourself.” Kevin said.

“Oh, right.” Jubilation said, taking a piece of a fallen picket fence and hefting it, point-down, over her head.

“No, please!” the Vampire cried. Jubilation let a grin cross her face just before she brought down the improvised stake. Splinters caught in her hands, causing her pain, but she didn’t care as she watched the Vampire putrify at an accelerated pace. Kevin touched her hands, and his healing power brought the splinters out of her hands and closed the wounds.

“Thanks.” Jubilation said.

“No problem.” Kevin replied.

“Jubilation!” Sonja exclaimed. As she rounded the corner, her jaw dropped. The stench of Vampiric death was everywhere.

“I’m fine, Sonja.” Jubilation said. “Really.”

“Word on the streets is that Pirondael has declared war on all Vampire hunters.” Sonja said. “I smelled the trap coming the minute I saw Jubilation’s sire. Just something about the careless way he let that brick drop.”

“How’s she coming?” Kevin asked.

“She’s gotten to the point where she thinks she’s learned everything she needs to survive from me.”

“If that’s what she thinks, then we’ll see how she handles the second grade.” Kevin said. “You too, Sonja. It’s too dangerous to leave you as you are.”

“Um, not to sound ungrateful or anything, but what do you mean?” Jubilation asked.

“I’m stepping up the schedule. Pirondael’s making all the moves I was hoping he wouldn’t make.”

“So, um, what do we do?”

“Leave that to me.” Kevin said, extending his shadow to help transport the two Repentants away before other Vampires caught the scent.

“The Shadows boy moves fast.” Pirondael muttered. “Faster than I anticipated, in fact. Find him, find his lair, find wherever he’s hiding, bring him before me.”

“Yes, Master.” replied the Alpha Vampire who stood in attendance.

“No, wait.” Pirondael said. “I’ve just gotten a better idea.”

Jubilation had never felt so sexy in all her life. Even the wings which sprouted from her back were sexy in their own way. She stood naked in front of a mirror of ice, looking for all the world like a horny angel.

“Indulging in a little vanity, Jubilation?” Kevin asked.

“I’m sorry, Master.” Jubilation said. “It’s just, I feel...different...in so many ways.”

“I understand. The transformation takes some getting used to.”

“It’s not just that.” Jubilation said. “Before, I was a horny psycho with some very slutty tendencies. Now, though, I feel like I’m capable of,” she paused, approaching Kevin and folding herself into his arms, “something deeper.” she finished.

“I understand completely.” Kevin replied.

Jessie awoke feeling a little queasy. She sat up, and suddenly felt as though she were going to barf up meals she ate in her childhood. She teleported to the bathroom and emptied her guts into the toilet. As she knelt before the Porcelain Altar, several things ran through her mind. First, her Transcendent DNA was made up of several species, including Pixies and Vampires, who were incapable of disease, so any thought that she might have caught a minor virus was out of the question. That left two things: Either she ate something last night which didn’t agree with her (which was a distinct possibility, due to the extreme hot pepper density of the chili she had cooked the night before), or she was pregnant.

Jessie stood on wobbly legs and cleansed her mouth with the magical fire which issued from the mouths of Dragons, a gift from Kevin after he had rescued Alicia. There was one way to find out for sure whether it was stomach upset or...otherwise. She teleported to the gate which connected Kevin’s island with the rest of the world and turned the gem in its frame until it showed an image of a Pretender hideaway within the protected zone near the school. She walked through and cast a glamour on herself so no one would recognize who she was.

“Morning, Miss.” the shopkeeper said.

“I haven’t missed anything.” Jessie replied, drawing a pleased chuckle from the clerk. “I’m, uh, looking for a...a pregnancy test.”

“Say no more.” the clerk replied, reaching behind the counter. From there he pulled four different brands of tests. After choosing one, Jessie paid for her purchase and left, returning to the gate.

“Master...”

Large, red eyes opened, glaring angrily at the Vampire that had dared awaken him. “What?” Pirondael demanded.

“I have brought the shadow-sorcerer, Korin von Dunkel. He will find the Shadows boy for you.”

“Why have you wasted so much time bringing him to me when he should be spending it casting his dark spells?”

“I’m sorry, Master!” the Vampire sniveled. “It won’t happen again!”

“No, it won’t.” Pirondael snarled, emitting from his gaping mouth a gout of flame that incinerated the Vampire in less time than it took a frightened person to jump. “Such is the fate of all who disappoint me. Is that clear, sorcerer?”

“Quite clear, Herr Pirondael.” the sorcerer replied.

“What’s wrong, Jessie?” Kevin asked. She’d been in the bathroom for some time. Finally she opened the door. She didn’t say anything. She simply handed him a small plastic thing. It took Kevin a few seconds to realize that it was a pregnancy test—and it was displaying a plus sign. Kevin walked in and sealed the door to prevent eavesdropping.

“I didn’t know how to tell you.” Jessie said.

“It’s okay, Jessie.” Kevin replied, pulling her close to him.

“Kevin, what are we going to do?”

“I said it’s okay, Jessie.” Kevin said. “We’ll get through this together.”

“I’m scared, Kevin.” she said.

“Worried about being a parent?”

“Among other things.” Jessie replied.

“Report, sorcerer.” Pirondael commanded.

“Jawol, Herr Pirondael.” Korin said. “The boy has been spending a great deal of time within a zone of protection he forged for himself, which before had been merely designed to blind Skeletons and Ghouls from spying on him while he was in school, but now confounds any attempt to locate him through magic. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to get a reading on him at any given time. However, the next time he leaves his sheltered little zones, this will alert us.” The sorcerer lifted a small glass sphere full of a yellowish oil. A finger floated in the exact center of the sphere. “When he is outside his protections, this orb will glow bright orange, and the finger inside will point out his exact direction. With a map, you can take a reading, mark off the direction on the map, then move as little as a mile in one direction and take a second reading, and you can triangulate his exact position.”

“How many of these can you make?”

“That depends.” Korin replied. “How many times can you provide me with the right index finger of a freshly-killed Elf maiden and a drop of Kevin’s blood?”

The King Vampire checked the orb again. Sure enough, Kevin was still in the doctor’s waiting room. This is one of the good things about the medical system. he thought to himself. The shadow-sorcerer appeared at his side.

“At last.” the Vampire said. “Where have you been?”

“Don’t get your unterhosen in a twist, blutsauger, I had to get my wards in order.”

“Don’t be a weisenheimer, just follow the plan.”

“Ja, ja, keep your shirt on, dummkopf.” The sorcerer chanted harsh syllables which could only be heard and forgotten, never remembered, even by Vampires, which served as an eternal source of frustration because they sensed the power of the words and desperately wanted to remember them so they could have that power for themselves. The five-by-five foot square of roof before the sorcerer melted and reshaped itself into stairs, which the sorcerer used to descend into the waiting room. He chanted again, and all the humans in the room fell asleep. Only Kevin and Jessie remained standing.

“They should have fallen comatose where they stood.” the Vampire King said. “Why are they still conscious?”

“Silence, dummkopf!“ Korin snapped. “He’s taken a Dragon as apprentice. This means none of my compulsion spells will work.”

“You wasted your chance, wizard.” Kevin said. At a gesture, lightning crackled from his fingertips and arced toward the sorcerer, who used one of his own spells to dispel Kevin’s magic bolt.

“You and your Nosferatu take them down!” Korin commanded.

“If it weren’t for the fact that Pirondael commands we follow your instructions in this matter...” the King snarled, even as he summoned his brood to his side.

“We have to take this fight away from here.” Kevin whispered to Jessie.

“Way ahead of you.” Jessie said, teleporting the lot of them to a nearby rooftop. Kevin morphed into a Dragon and emitted a gout of flame which incinerated half of the Vampires. He loomed over the sorcerer and was about to bite off his head when he cast a spell and his eyeballs began to glow. Kevin roared in pain and rage, forcing the glow to disappear. He heard a scream behind him and whirled, but the sorcerer had already captured Jessie. Kevin knew he had to keep his head. He reverted to his human form and teleported to the edge of his protected zone, then flew as fast as he could to the gate home. Once home, he gathered his apprentices. Pirondael had forced his hand. Now it was time to see whether he held the royal flush or merely a full house.

“Welcome, my dear.” Pirondael said. “Welcome to the future.”

“You’ve made a big mistake, Pirondael.” Jessie snarled.

“No, my dear, it was Kevin who made the mistake by making himself a threat to me.” Pirondael said. “Had he simply remained a human/Pretender hybrid content to live his life in obscurity, I wouldn’t have been forced to take such measures. Instead he chose to join you in your hunt for vengeance against Vampires, which led to his transformation and his rapid evolution into a Transcendent, and thus a threat to me. Further, he took the last of the Win-lan as apprentice, who should have been mine.”

“Poor baby, didn’t get his toy and now he’s going to throw a temper tantrum.”

“Don’t trifle with me, girl.” Pirondael said in a dangerous tone. “You have no concept of the danger you and your child are in. Yes, I know of your pregnancy. I may not be able to see your aura, but I can smell the chemical change in your body.”

“Okay, I may be knocked up, but that doesn’t mean I can’t put up a damn good fight.”

Kevin blasted down the door of the Black Cathedral, expecting a fight. Instead he found empty pews. The Dark Pulpit sat ominous at the front, but Kevin opened the trap door and peered into the darkness. Nothing and no one awaited him.

“I keep expecting everyone to jump out and yell ‘Surprise.’” Kevin muttered.

“I doubt they’re making plans for your birthday.” Suzy said. “I rather think they’re all in the nest ready to open a can of whupass on the lot of us when we break through the wall.”

“Then let’s do something they won’t expect.” Kevin said, charging down the empty corridor. He plowed into the front door with all his might, and it crushed a large number of Vampires beneath its cast iron weight. Just as Suzy had suspected, Vampires hid in every nook and cranny in the place. Pirondael held Jessie in one talon. “Let her go, Pirondael.”

“As the humans say, ‘make me.’” Pirondael replied. Kevin created his miniature, comma-sized sun, and was surprised when no one did more than shield their eyes. “I’ve taken the liberty of having Mr. von Dunkel cast a personal shadow around all my Vampires. Your sun-spell will avail you naught.”

“Then we do this the old-fashioned way.” Kevin said, conjuring a sword out of ice and hacking away at the Vampires in front of him. His apprentices were only half-trained, but they held their own. Kevin would have to bear the brunt of the battle. He threw an energy disc which cut off the talon holding Jessie, and she sprouted wings and flew to Kevin’s side. “Okay, we’ve got Jessie, let’s skidaddle.” Kevin said.

“I think not.” Pirondael said, hurling a bolt of lightning which caused a cave-in at Kevin’s side of the cavern, blocking off the exit. Kevin and his apprentices managed to get out of the way in time to save their own lives. Pirondael then emitted a gout of flame that melted and fused the fallen rocks. Pirondael, apparently, was not willing to play to a stalemate this time.

“Fine.” Kevin muttered.

This was the place. Sven could sense it. Evil was palpable in the air. He’d seen the silver-haired Pretender fly this way. This, apparently, was his destination. The door had been broken down. From within, the Black Cathedral had an eerily evil, through-the-looking-glass appearance. Demons adorned the walls and were immortalized in statuary rather than saints. The greatest acts of human evil were depicted in frightening detail in the frescoes embedded in the walls. There was a trap door behind the pulpit. Sven activated his sabre and began his descent through the long, dark tunnel.

Korin walked serenely along the roof, glad to be free of Pirondael and his Vampires. Most of them anyway. One of them had insisted on escorting him back to the city. Suddenly the Vampire whirled, taking a swipe at him with his talons.

“Watch what you’re doing, scheißekopf!” Korin exclaimed.

“Pirondael has decreed that your usefulness is at an end.” the Vampire said. “I shall enjoy this.”

“Du Arschloch.“ Korin said, casting a powerful spell which he had “accidentally” forgotten to protect the Vampire against. As he walked by the dusty remains of the former hunter, he smiled. “The darkmage is not as stupid as he seems.”

Throughout Pirondael’s chamber, only seventeen figures remained alive. Kevin, Jessie, Suzy, Katarina, Jade, Moonseed, Tina, Renee, Bonnie, Dara, Nina, Ephremelda, Krystal, Alicia, Jubilation and Sonja had finally whittled the opposition down to just Pirondael, who had regenerated his severed talon and was now attacking with all he had. It seemed he had an infinite number of limbs with which to launch an attack. Kevin was visibly slowing. He hadn’t had time to gather energy for a healing, and fatigue was definitely getting to him. Pirondael had forced their hand too soon. Suddenly he caught Kevin with a backhanded slap which sent him flying into the ceiling.

“Now it ends, Kevin Shadows!” Pirondael exclaimed, firing a burst of energy which left a hole in the ceiling. His apprentices could not sense where he was.

“No!“ Jessie screamed. Suzy quickly took charge of the situation, gathering the other apprentices and carrying Jessie through the hole and outside. Krystal formed a ball of explosive energy and hurled it back down into the nest, where it exploded, collapsing a large part of the roof onto Pirondael.

Deep within the bowels of the Vampire nest, Sven Monsterhunter enters and beholds a scene of such carnage that he is rooted to the spot. Pirondael unearths himself and glares at the intruder.

“Who...what are you?” Sven demands.

“I am Pirondael...and you, little fool, are dead.”