The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Kevin yawned. He and Jessie had only run into a single feeding Vampire the entire night, and Kevin had let Jessie have him to quell the killing urge which still occasionally showed itself despite all that had gone right and wrong in their lives. Even the Ogres were fasting, afraid to show themselves lest they be slain by zealous Transcendents. It was a hard time to be a predator of humans, and a dull time to be a predator of predators. Jessie landed on the roof beside him, retracting the Pixie-wings she had used to flit and hover in her search.

“Found some Repentants over by the butcher shop getting their bottles of blood, but that’s it.” she sighed. “On one hand, it’s good. It means we’re doing our jobs.” She didn’t have to say what was on the other hand. He caressed her cheek gently before kissing her.

“Want to try downtown?” Kevin asked.

“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of the ritzy neighborhoods on the east side.” Jessie replied. “Lots of eccentric, reclusive, nocturnal, Gothic millionaires there.”

“OK.” Kevin said. “Keep in touch. If you don’t find anything in the ritz, join me downtown. If I find anything downtown, I’ll let you know.” He kissed her, passionately, deeply. She moaned into his mouth, opening her mind to him by instinct, and happily receiving his mental caress. When they parted, it wasn’t without pangs of regret, but they both knew they had a better chance of finding something if they split up. The world disappeared in a flash of light, returning as the brightness faded, only now Kevin was in the downtown area and alone. Here, twenty-story apartments gave way to neon-lighted businesses. There were lots of people here tonight, this being Friday. A great many people had just gotten paid and were out splurging in the clubs and so forth. Glancing over the crowd, he found several humans with the mage-gift who didn’t realize it yet, and probably never would. Four Elves in disguise stood in line at a club. An Incubus disguised as a jiggolo was propositioning healthy, young girls in front of a porn theater.

Better than nothing, I guess. he thought to himself as he disappeared into a shadow. He yanked the Incubus into the alley where he could have a little privacy. Suddenly he had a better idea. “I’m going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer honestly, Incubus.” he snarled. “Where are they hiding?”

“Who?” the Incubus simpered.

“Vampires.” Kevin replied. “Pickings are slim these days.”

“I saw some over by the butcher shop.” the Incubus ventured.

“Not Repentants, fool!” Kevin snarled, his eyes glowing red...not because he was particularly angry, but because he wanted the Incubus to think he was.

“Okayokayokayokay!” the Incubus squeaked, covering his head in terror. “You’re right, they’re hiding. They order out these days, using less obvious Pretenders to deliver them. Guy like me can make a killing. With what the old ones are paying me for their daily bread, I can buy dinner on the Chinese slave market. It’s only the young ones and the starvelings that venture outside their nests, and only because they have no choice.” At this point, Kevin would normally have delved into the little Pretender’s mind for the location, but Incubi and Succubi survived by absorbing the essence of those they had sex with. There were far too many psyches to sift through. The direct approach was called for.

“I won’t kill you, Incubus, provided you show me any Vampire nests you know of, and then spread your little batty wings and flit over to China and never let me see your sorry face again. Clear?”

“Actually I’m opaque.” the Incubus replied, forcing a grin.

“And pretty dense, too.” Kevin snarled, causing the pathetic little creature to cringe in terror again, whimpering apologies. He shoved the Incubus ahead of him, forcing him to lead him to the nearest nest. The wind shifted as they exited the alley. The scent of fear hit Kevin’s nostrils. “Stay here, Incubus, or I swear I’ll hunt you down.” he snarled, making a show of memorizing the Incubus’s scent before taking off in the direction of the fear-smell. He extended his consciousness toward Jessie, telling her where the Incubus was and what he knew. He felt a ripple of anticipation in return.

I’m on my way. she said.

Good, I’ve got some trouble to take care of, I’ll meet you back home later. he responded.

Deanna knocked over a garbage can as she made a swinging turn at full tilt down one of the many alleys between the buildings. The Vampire on her tail slid on the slick pavement, snarling angrily as it made its correction. She was almost out of the alley and into public view when the Vampire landed in front of her. She bounced off its back and fell onto her buttocks. She crabbed backwards as the creature turned. Terrified, she forgot all caution. The Vampire made eye contact, and suddenly Deanna’s body was no longer her own. Her mind struggled for release, but the Vampire’s gaze held her in thrall, forcing her to rise to her feet. She felt her fear draining away. It was only the first of many things to be disabled by the Vampire’s hypnotic gaze. Deanna stared helplessly into its eyes as it wove her mind into a psychic web, immobilizing her will and leaving her powerless to effect any sort of resistence. She was a puppet. With the pull of a psychic string, her neck craned to the right, and she stepped forward. The Vampire opened its mouth, extending its fangs as it prepared to feed. Suddenly it hissed in fear and rage, leaping backward as cold steel slashed through the place where it had been.

Deanna had no way to pay attention to the ensuing battle. With no commands from the mind which had enthralled her, her mind idled, glazed eyes staring at nothing, her neck exposed as per her last instructions. Suddenly the connection was severed, along with the Vampire’s head. With neither adrenaline nor Vampiric power to hold her up, Deanna’s fatigued legs collapsed under her. She felt strong, gentle arms helping her up, and tender fingers in her mind helping it with the transition back to independent thought. She opened her eyes and gazed into those of her savior.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I...um, yeah, I think.” she said. She managed to get her limbs to work, and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek against one of his pectoral muscles. She felt him run his fingers through her long, brown hair, and sighed, letting the slow, gentle, repetitive action calm her down.

“Has anyone ever told you...”

“That I look like Tifa Lockhart from that silly video game?” Deanna responded.

“Well, I was going to say that your hair feels nice, but that works too.” the young man replied, chuckling at her long-suffering sigh.

“Well, I don’t let just anybody run their fingers through my hair, but I guess since you saved my life, you’re entitled.”

“Truth be told, I’m not ‘entitled’ to do anything if you don’t want me to.” he responded.

“Well maybe I do want you to.” she said softly. She lifted her head and gazed into the stranger’s eyes. “My name’s Deanna Locke.”

“Kevin Shadows.”

“That’s such a cool name.” she said, smiling. Her gaze drifted astray for a moment, and she noticed his silver hair and pointed ears. “Are you an alien?”

“What?” Kevin asked. “Oh, the pointy ears.” He laughed then. “No, I’m not an alien. It’s a little hard to explain.”

“Would you mind explaining it over breakfast, maybe?” she offered.

“How about dinner first?” Kevin asked. “It’s only eleven p.m.”

“Um, okay.” Deanna responded, her skin flushing. “Man, listen to me, giddy as a schoolgirl!”

“You sound relieved.” Kevin observed. “Stuck in a rut are we?”

“You could say that.” Deanna said. “I mean, aside from tonight, the only excitement I get is delivering a pizza to a frat house. I guess this is what I get for majoring in liberal arts.”

“Well, I have some unfinished business to attend to, but if you would wait for me at the Ex Humanis Club, I promise you a peek over the lip of that rut.” He drew a medallion of some sort from his pocket and slipped it over her head. “The club’s pretty exclusive, but this will get you in.” Deanna followed the directions Kevin gave her, until she came to a Gothic-looking club with a throbbing dance beat coming from within. She showed the medallion—an ornate Celtic knot design with a rune-bedecked dragon woven into it—to the bouncer, who grunted disdainfully but allowed her to pass. Energy flared about her as she crossed the threshold into the club.

“Whoa.” she whispered. “Was that a force field?” She noticed that the medallion was now glowing a soft, blue color. “Cool.” she muttered. As she turned past the partition that kept persons on the street from viewing the club’s interior, she gasped in surprise. She felt as if she had crossed over into a modern chapter of Lord of the Rings. Under the flashing strobe-lights, Succubi, Incubi, Pixies, Hobbits, Leprechauns, Dwarves and mythical beings of nearly every description danced. Those who noticed her, with her softly-glowing blue medallion, huffed and moved toward the center or the opposite side of the dance floor. Deanna found herself a stool at the bar. As she crossed from the high-ceilinged dance floor to the softly-lit bar, she felt another force-field flare and the throb of the music ceased, much to the relief of her noise-battered ears.

“Yer one o’ Kevin’s friends, ain’t ya?” asked a silver-haired woman with an Irish lilt. “He’s the only one who gets t’make magicks that let humans in here wi’out gettin’ snuffed by Oberon.”

“The, um, beings, on the dance floor, don’t like me.” she said.

“Can ya blame ‘em?” the woman asked. “Out there, they gotta wear hot disguises or drainin’ glamours ta keep themselves from gettin’ noticed. Here’s one o’ th’ few places where they can git away from humans an’ be themselves, an’ they’re kinda jealous o’ it.”

“Oh, so that’s why they call this the Ex Humanis Club.” Deanna muttered. “Now I feel really stupid for not figuring it out earlier.”

“Dinna worry aboot it, lass.” the woman said. “Unless ya know there be non-humans hidin’ among th’ population, thar’s no reason t’be suspicious o’ anythin’.”

“I guess it is kind of nice to get in here away from cold iron and people trying to get your pot of gold or slay you or whatever.” Deanna said. “And you probably wouldn’t have to hide among us if we hadn’t spread and crowded the planet.”

“Say, yer a smart one, ya are.” the barmaid said. “Name’s Eihre.” She slid an ice-cold beer across the bar in liu of a handshake. “Dinna worry about payin’, lass, it all goes on Kevin’s tab.”

“I’m Deanna.” Deanna said, taking an experimental sip of the beer. “This is good. Tastes kind of Irish, with a bit of a pop to it. You brew it in the back or something?”

“Smart an’ ya know yer beer, too?” Eihre asked with a smile. “Ya got a brother?”

“Yes, but we’re nothing alike.” Deanna sighed. “He definitely wouldn’t be your type. Way too mundane for a fancy girl like you.”

“More’s th’ pity.” Eihre sighed. “Then again, Banshee never seem t’ meet anyone interestin’ romantically.”

“Sorry.” Deanna said. “Well, here’s hoping you meet the man of your dreams, Eihre.” She raised her bottle, and Eihre popped open a second one and raised it in return.

“I’ll drink ta that, Deanna.” she chimed, and they drained their bottles together.

“Having fun, Deanna?” Kevin asked behind her. Deanna turned around, her face lit up with joy.

“You came!”

“Always.” he responded. “Eihre, I hate to do this to you, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to steal away your friend for a while.”

“Ya bring ‘er back in one piece, Kevin Shadows, or so halp me, I’ll kick ya all th’ way t’ Underhill meself!” Eihre warned, without raising her voice. Kevin laughed and escorted Deanna out of the club.

“At least she didn’t raise her voice.” Deanna remarked, still clutching the bottle in her right hand.

“Her kind have a sonic scream that can severely harm anyone who hears it.” Kevin replied. “If she’d raised her voice, you’d either be deaf or dead.”

“Oh.” Deanna said. “Jeez, that’s something I should have figured out. I mean, she said she was a Banshee when we were talking...”

“Relax.” Kevin said. “The concept of Pretenders takes some getting used to.”

“So what did you have to take care of earlier?” she asked, sipping the cool beer.

“I’d caught an Incubus fetching dinner for a Vampire nest before I smelled your fear, and I had to go make sure he hadn’t flown away.” Kevin replied. “I called another of my kind to take charge of the Incubus and the Vampire nests he knew about.”

“Oh.” Deanna said. “So, um, what ‘kind’ are you anyway?”

“We call ourselves Transcendents.” Kevin said. “As I said before, it’s a long story.”

“I’d like to hear it.” Deanna said, her voice husky as she gazed up at him. She felt like a sun-starved flower seedling being given life-giving sunlight for the first time. When her eyes finally drifted away from his, she noticed they were in her apartment. “How’d we get here?”

“A bit of magic.” Kevin replied.

“So are you going to tell your story or are you going to keep me in suspense?” she asked. Kevin laughed, and they sat down together on the couch. He was silent for a few minutes, choosing his words, she supposed. She raised the empty beer bottle to her lips, making a little disappointed noise when barely a drop touched her questing tongue.

“I was born the child of two half-human, half-Pretender hybrids.” he said at last. “My mother was half Elf. My father was half Vampire.” Deanna’s eyes widened at the mention of the word “Vampire,” but she said nothing, allowing him to continue according to the script in his head. “My...potential...caught the attention of a Vampire who was more powerful than myself, and he forced a confrontation. I was bitten. I could feel his power taking over. In desperation, to preserve my human soul, I cried out to Avalon’s magic for aid. Its mists swirled around me, then entered through my lungs, infusing me with its power and causing my hybrid genes to catalyze into something entirely new, not entirely human, not entirely Pretender. Like...” He paused, trying to come up with a metaphor. “Like taking hydrogen and oxygen and turning them into water.”

“Wow.” Deanna whispered.

“Anyway, after that, there was some trouble with a Vampire Queen who just happened to be the sister of a friend of mine. During that fight, I learned that if I bite another Pretender, we share powers, among other things, and something about my bite frees the human soul within the Vampire from the dark hunger. It wasn’t too long after that I learned of the existence of a Vampire who had learned to share powers as well, but because he was a full Vampire, the dark hunger remained within him. He had taken powers from almost every Pretender race in existence, until it transformed him into a titanic beast of pure evil.”

“Whoa!”

“I knew that if I and my growing list of apprentices were going to survive, we would have to keep away from Pirondael’s minions until we were strong enough to take him on.”

“Pirondael? Was that his name?”

“Yes.” Kevin replied. “He was the meanest son of a bitch you’d ever meet. Even when I gained the powers of all the same races as Pirondael and then some, he still gave us a hard time. In fact, we lost a great many Transcendents in the battle against him.”

“But you won, right?”

“I wouldn’t be here if we’d lost.” Kevin remarked.

“So I guess you’re, like the ultimate Pretender, then?”

“That,” Kevin said, “remains to be seen.” Deanna chuckled, and noticed that her hand had landed on his. She blushed, and felt his hand at the small of her back. Her lips brushed his, and she took the initiative, kissing him lustily, and was repaid in kind. She took off her top to reveal a pair of mammaries that were imperfect enough and hung down just enough to show that they were natural, not implants. Kevin took one in his hand, massaging it gently as he slid her skirt and panties to the floor. She kicked off her shoes and peeled her socks off with her toes. She hadn’t noticed him undressing but suddenly she felt his hard member against her stomach. Gleaming, angellic wings wrapped around her as their bodies entwined. She’d never felt so safe and protected in her life. The beer bottle lay forgotten on the coffee table.

Delbert Armstrong knelt amid his Circle of black candles, one at each point of his inverted pentagram, chanting what he hoped were ancient spells of summoning.

“What is it you want?” a chill voice asked from the shadows which suddenly seemed to allow no escape of light.

“Power.” Delbert replied.

“Then you shall have it.” the voice responded, and a powerful Darkness flowed into the young man’s body, taking control and subverting the meek and feeble will of the mortal it now posessed. “Now, let’s make some REAL magic.” the Darkness said through its new avatar. It began to chant in an echoing, powerful voice. A figure began to appear before the body of the avatar. Gaining definition and opacity by the moment, the minor demon hunched on the floor, cramped in the small confines of the room. Its head brushed the ceiling even as the demon crouched with its elbows on the floor. Wicked, dagger-like fangs filled the mouth of the nearly lynx-like head. The color and appearance of its eyes could be described only as liquid evil. No mortal with his soul intact could gaze into those glowing embers without cringing. Running up the front of the frightful face was a large, bat-like nose capable of sniffing out souls and psyches as well as physical presences. Claws as long as a man’s arm and sharper than anything to be found in the Earth realm extended and retracted from each of the eight fingers on each diabolical hand. Muscles rippled along the powerful arm as the demon struggled to move in the cramped space.

“That wall opens to the outside, my Therzathje.” the Darkness said through its avatar, pointing at a window. “Go forth and find the one called Kevin Shadows.” The Therzathje opened its mouth, emitting a soul-wrenching roar, the like of which had not been heard by mortal ears since the barrier between Earth and Hell was last breached. It extended its arm, punching clear through the outside wall, and slid out into the world. Free to move again, the Therzathje stretched, roaring once more, and those mortals who were on the street died of fright, as if knowing by instinct that the creature fed on souls as well as flesh.

Deanna awoke to the sound of her alarm. The sheet slid away from her body as she sat up. Kevin’s place in the bed was empty and cold. There was a note pinned to the pillow.

Sorry to leave you like this, Deanna, but I’ve got classes this morning. See you later.

Kevin

Deanna smiled, clutching the little note to her chest. She sighed and got up out of bed. She passed the full-length mirror and gazed at her nude form in the reflection. Her smile became a girlish grin.

She felt pretty, and was conscious of her own beauty for the first time in a while.

Grabbing her uniform, she got ready for work and fairly skipped to the bus stop. Handing her token to the bus driver, she found a seat next to a lady who had to be four times Deanna’s age. Her joy was infectious, and soon the lady was smiling as well. Deanna got off at her usual stop, and had a smile for everyone as she navigated the maze leading to her desk and logged into her computer. Even her asshole boss couldn’t bring her down.

“Whatever you’re high on, I want some!” remarked Nia Hunt, Deanna’s friend since high school.

“New boyfriend.” Deanna chimed, her eyes sparkling.

“Does he have a brother?” Nia asked, her pearly white teeth contrasting beautifully with her milk-chocolate skin.

“He’s one of a kind.” Deanna sighed.

“Well, can’t blame a girl for asking.” Nia sighed, though hers was more exhasperated than joyous. “Oh, by the way, you got a delivery.” Nia set a cooler on the floor beside her desk. “Your boyfriend’s name wouldn’t happen to be Kevin, would it? The hottie with the silver hair?”

“That’s him.” Deanna replied, picking up the cooler and reading the note.

“Eihre tells me you like this, so I made sure to pick some up for you before I headed on to class.

Kevin.”

Deanna opened the cooler and, with a cry of delight, pulled out a dripping bottle of the wonderful beer she’d had at the Ex Humanis Club. Peering around the kitchen to make sure her boss was nowhere in sight, she popped the top on the bottle and took a long draught, followed by a happy sigh.

“Looks good.” Nia said.

“Tastes better.” Deanna replied, handing the bottle to her friend.

“Mmmm...wow! Where does your beau get this stuff?”

“From a friend of his.” Deanna replied. “We’d better hide that before the boss finds out.” Nia nodded and took another long swig before handing it back to Deanna, who finished the bottle and hid it in the bottom of her wastebasket under some wadded-up tissues so it looked like she’d blown her nose a lot. She placed the cooler under the sink in the restroom, hoping nobody would run off with it.

The Therzathje sniffed the inside of the human habitation. Its nose told it that a human and an unfamiliar kind of Pretender had mated for pleasure within. Its lips curled back in a snarl as it sensed the emotions involved. Human pleasure disgusted the demon. Focussing on the task at hand, it sniffed again. The Pretender was the one called Kevin Shadows. That was his quarry. Shadows had left via teleportation magic, the end-point being shielded from traces. No matter. It would bring Shadows to a place of its own choosing.

It followed the scent of the female until it came to the place where she had been picked up by some form of internal-combustion device. The Therzathje followed the scent of the combustion engine, its presence and appearance causing many accidents along the way.

“Come on, Deanna, let’s go have lunch!” Nia urged. “I’m almost hungry enough to eat here!“

“In a minute, I just have to finish balancing the register.” Deanna replied. “And the sooner it’s finished, the less I have to worry about getting a call on my cell asking me to cut my lunch short to finish it.”

“Come on, Deanna, you know Herr Linkmeyer doesn’t believe in employees being finished.” Nia said. “If peers into his crystal ball and finds out you’re done, he’s going to pull something out of his ass for you to do and it’s going to take you till way after closing to do it!”

“I assure you, Ms. Hunt, that nothing emerges from my posterior that doesn’t emerge from that of any other normal human being.” said an unamused male voice behind Nia. The dark-skinned woman froze, her expression one of embarrassed horror. She turned to find their boss, Mr. Linkmeyer, glowering at her.

“Mr. Linkmeyer, what a surprise.” Nia said with a nervous giggle.

“Yes, isn’t it?” the man responded. “I hope you don’t have plans this weekend, Ms. Hunt, because I need you to drive deliveries. Too many of our drivers are taking off this weekend.”

“Uh, yessir.” Nia replied. Once Mr. Linkmeyer was gone, Nia sighed in exasperation. “Man! I can’t believe it! Why can’t the old Nazi make some noise when he comes up behind somebody?”

“Don’t sweat it, Nia, I’ll come in and help you.” Deanna said, picking up her cooler of beer and following her friend toward the exit.

“No, you’ve got a new guy.” Nia responded. “Take the weekend to break him in, ‘cuz all the ones that aren’t gay need house-training. Besides, you do kind of need a license to drive.”

“I can bring my bike and run the bike route.” Deanna offered.

“Nia! Deanna! Going to lunch?” asked Amanda Chavez, one of the pair’s mutual acquaintences.

“Yeah, and guess what, Deanna’s got a new boyfriend!” Nia responded, much to Deanna’s embarrassment.

“Cool!” Amanda said. “We can talk about it in the car!”

“Sorry I’m late.” Jessie said, seating herself in the little booth just outside the college deli (which in actuality was more like one of the more poorly-stocked truck stops). “Has our little bundle of delight been much trouble?”

“No problem.” Kevin replied. “Evan’s been a good boy so far.”

“Let’s not jinx it.” Jessie responded, caressing her son’s cheek. Evan cooed happily at his mother’s touch, then extended his arms to be held. Jessie pulled him out of his transformable baby seat and cuddled him close to her body to shield him from the autumn breeze. Kevin handed Jessie the blanket, magically enhanced after purchase to provide needed warmth and protection even in katabatic winds. Runic designs had been sewn into the border and the entire outside surface of the blanket by Bonnie Blaze, another of Kevin’s apprentices, to protect the wearer from everything from kidnapping to bullets to large, falling objects. Thanks to the healing properties of several of the races which had been “assimilated” into the Transcendent gene pool, she had been able to regain her figure quickly after the pregnancy.

Evan began to drink contentedly from a warm bottle she offered him. She telepathically inquired if he had slept while she was in class. Kevin mentally replied that he—as well as the various females who were drawn to the infant like moths to a flame—had kept Evan too distracted to sleep.

You haven’t taken any new apprentices since we beat Pirondael. she thought at him. If Bonnie’s right about the world being balanced between good and evil, we need to boost our numbers to be ready when evil bounces back.

I can always get you pregnant again. Kevin responded wryly. Jessie repressed a moan of desire and managed some semblance of a glare.

Evan’s not even in the Terrible Twos yet and you’re thinking about spawning again?

You know us males, always thinking with the wrong head. Kevin thought back at her, letting the warm glow of his feelings for her flow down the link. Her expression softened, and she glanced back down at the child drinking drowsily in her arms. Whenever he did that, the prospect of becoming pregnant again somehow didn’t seem quite so undesirable—if only because the method of placing herself in that condition was so pleasurable. When he was intimate with her, she always passed out on the crest of a powerful orgasm. The touch of his lips on her forehead broke her reverie. “I’ve got to go to class.” he said, caressing her softly before he left. Evan yawned and stretched, and a new scent informed Jessie that she had a load of green shit awaiting her at the bottom of her son’s diaper.

“You timed it this way, didn’t you?” she asked the infant, who merely gazed innocently up at her with those dazzling eyes of his, melting her heart. She gave him an Eskimo nuzzle and picked up the diaper bag, carrying it and the baby to the women’s restroom, where she could change him in the heated indoors.

Mr. Linkmeyer examined the contents of the wastebasket until he found what he had smelled. An empty bottle of some home-brewed beer. Now that he’d found it, he knew he’d have to report it, but he hated to lose one of the few punctual workers he had. Maybe he could pin it on that disrespectful Hunt girl...

A hot, fetid smell reached his nostrils, and he wrinkled his nose as he turned around. He shit his pants as he caught sight of the giant, evil feline head, cruel lips curling back to reveal the longest teeth he’d ever seen, even in a prehistoric animal exhibit. The mouth opened and stretched, like the mask from Scream, and the teeth in that uber-evil mouth seemed to multiply as it stretched. Some primal terror told him that the teeth would be the least of his worries.

“Wow, are you sure he’s not an angel?” Amanda asked while Deanna swallowed the food she’d been chewing.

“Oh, come on, Amanda, angels don’t kill.” Nia responded.

“Have you ever actually seen one?” Deanna remarked. “Look, all I can tell you is what I told you already. He saved my keister by slicing a murderer with a katana, then treated me to a night of clubbing and...the other thing.” This illicited a giggle from the other two women. “Part of me wants to tell you the whole truth, but he’s like James Bond: The College Years only cuter.”

“You mean he’s a secret agent?” Amanda asked.

“I didn’t say that.” Deanna responded coyly. She caught a flash of silver in her peripheral vision. Kevin? She turned, but it was a woman. A thirtyish woman with long, silver hair which flowed all the way to her ankles. The woman caught sight of her, and approached the table. Something was weird here. This woman shared a lot of Kevin’s features, except for the hair length and gender, and she hoped this wasn’t some Ranma thing.

“Deanna Locke?” the woman asked. At Deanna’s nod, the woman continued. “You don’t know me. My name is Leigh Shadows. Someone named Shin Tsu told me that you could lead me to my brother.”

“Whoa, soap opera city!” Nia whispered to Amanda.

“You’re Kevin’s sister?” Deanna asked. “Wow, I mean...he didn’t tell me he had a sister.”

“I haven’t seen him since he was a little baby.” Leigh said. “I was a kid myself when our mother hid us away to keep our father from hurting us.”

“Shit, we’ve gotta be getting back to work!” Nia exclaimed. “Herr Linkmeyer’s gonna kill us!”

“Come with us, I’ll buy you a pitcher of Dr. Pepper and we’ll go see your brother when I get off work.” Deanna said. They piled into Nia’s car and drove across town to the Pisa Pizza where the three non-Pretenders worked (though Nia and Amanda didn’t yet know that Leigh was a Pretender).

“Oh my God!” Amanda exclaimed as they came within site of Pisa Pizza. Nia stopped the car and the four females stared. A gaping hole had been torn in the restaurant. Something rose to its feet alongside the hole, with a man’s torso hanging out. The monstrous hellcat turned its massive head in the girls direction. Its eyes chilled Deanna to the core. It seemed to be staring right at her. Baring its hideous, gleaming, blood-soaked teeth, it stepped forward, never breaking eye contact with Deanna. Nia shrieked, put the car in reverse, backed up, spun the car around, and shifted into overdrive. Deanna shivered from a chill that had nothing to do with the broken heater. The creature’s roar was so frightening she nearly had a heart attack. The thud of its feet behind the speeding vehicle reminded the girls of the T-rex chase from Jurassic Park. Catching sight of the fiend’s gaping maw in the side mirror, Nia made an abrupt, ninety-degree turn that nearly rolled the car, but the right wheels made contact with the ground once again and the vehicle took off once more. The demon scratched at the pavement and buildings as it tried to change direction. Leigh peered through the back window, looking for the creature.

“I think we lost it.” she said. Suddenly Amanda screamed as the monster appeared in front of them. Nia barely managed to swerve away from one swiping, clawed hand.

Mercy Gallegos swallowed her nervousness again. Never before had she covered anything like this. She was supposed to be giving a traffic report from Skyspy 9 just like every other day. Instead she found herself dictating a play-by-play of a very unusual chase scene.

“The creature appears to be moving to cut the vehicle off.” she managed to say as she watched the monster run around the building. “Oh, God, that was close” she exclaimed as the vehicle swerved around the monster’s slashing claw. “I’m being told that this creature has been clocked at over a hundred miles an hour during this chase. Military units are moving in now to attempt to deal with this threat.” She said a silent prayer for the occupants of the vehicle.

Leigh panted as the monster turned around and prepared to chase them again. She knew she had to do something, or she and her new friends would be killed or worse. Rolling down her window, she leaned out and extended one hand.

“Arctic ice, slow this beast, grant us some respite at least!” she exclaimed, and a sheet of ice appeared on the road. The demon slipped on the ice, falling on its spiky back. It would buy them some time, but not much.

The Therzathje roared in rage as the silverhair’s spell sent it slipping. It had no tolerance for frustrating quarry. The silverhair may have had the same family-smell as his quarry, Shadows, but the Therzathje would teach her a new definition of pain and suffering as it slowly digested her body and soul over a thousand years. Regaining its feet, the Therzathje used its claws to penetrate the thin sheet of ice, granting it traction to resume the chase. It watched as the vehicle of its quarry disappeared into a maze of bridges and overpasses, snarling in anger.

“You sure it’s a good idea going through the mixmaster?” Deanna asked.

“Yeah, we’ll confuse it.” Nia said.

“But the road you’re taking brings us back around to...” she started. The beast’s claw swiped at the road, knocking down a large section of bridge.

“Is everybody buckled up?” Nia asked as the vehicle sped over the edge. There was a lurch as the car’s descent slowed, then the vehicle rose to be deposited on a higher bridge.

“GO!” an urgent voice called from outside, and Nia offered no arguement.

“GO!” Kevin called after setting the vehicle down on the higher road. The tires squealed as the driver floored the accellerator. A deafening roar was emitted from below, and the demon leapt for Kevin. In a flash of light, Kevin was gone. He reappeared in the air above the demon, wings glistening in the sunlight. “Okay, you big pussy, you wanna dance?” he asked, drawing his sword.

“Are you seeing this, Nick?” Mercy asked of her cameraman.

“I’m seeing it, but I’m not believing it!” the other replied.

“Jeez, it’s like the war between heaven and hell right here on Earth and in our face!” she muttered. “Keep rolling! Everyone needs to see this!”

“SHADOWS!” the monster roared.

“Great, Arnold Schwarzekitty knows my name.” Kevin muttered. The beast leapt for Kevin, but he was hovering just out of reach, and delivered a blow with his blade for the creature’s effort. It rang against the monster’s claw with a resounding clang, but didn’t appear to cause any damage. Kevin summoned forth a titanic bolt of lightning which struck the demon, causing it pain. It opened its mouth, from which a giant fireball spewed forth, roaring past Kevin as he evaded it. He dove for the creature, katana ready to ring against the monster again. With a boom of imploding air and a stench of brimstone, the beast was gone. Kevin pulled up just in time to avoid hitting the pavement, and almost flew right into the demon’s ambush. “And it teleports and shoots fireballs too.” he grumbled. “Wonderful.” He concentrated his will, catalyzing the hydrogen atoms in the air around him to a fusion reaction, creating a miniature sun the size of a softball in the palm of his hand, which he hurled into the monster’s face. He paused only momentarily to heal the injuries the mini-sun had inflicted upon him in its creation, but even this was almost enough time for the demon to recover. It shot another fireball. “Through my skill, twist back your darkness on yourself.” he muttered, and the fireball made a U-turn, striking the monster in the chest.

“Well done, Shadows.” a familiar voice said, emerging from a hiding place. “Not many would last this long against a full-grown Therzathje.” continued Sven Monsterhunter. “Even if you die, your name will be remembered as a hero for rescuing those maidens from this demon.”

“Don’t carve my epitaph just yet, Sven.” Kevin responded.

“You’ll need a charmed blade, and you’ll have to penetrate the monster’s heart.” Sven responded.

“KILL YOU!” the Therzathje roared, charging.

“You first, pussy!” Kevin retorted, striking it in the face with a bolt of lightning. He flew into the air as the demon’s momentum carried it forward.

“I’ll keep it busy.” Sven called. “You find a suitable weapon.”

“I already have one!” Kevin responded, casting a spell of transposition, switching the blade he carried with one he had discovered in a knight’s tomb. It had been designed to be a weapon to banish and destroy evil spirits, but Kevin wagered it would work on the Therzathje just as well. Muttering a spell to enhance the effectiveness of the charm, he charged full-flight at the Therzathje. His wings beat with great fury as the Therzathje lunged, claws and fangs bared, eyes glowing balefully. Keeping the blade parallel to the ground he aimed for a place between two of the beast’s ribs. The monster shrieked in agony as the sword pierced its heart. Apparently the original banishment spell on the sword was plenty. The enhancements Kevin had cast on it caused the Therzathje to explode, leaving a mess of organs and blood, and sending Kevin flying into the trailer of a diesel.

Leigh entered the little room with trepidation. Kevin lay on the hospital bed, wings outstretched. Even injured, he looked so much stronger than she. It was clear, even from the wings, that there was a lot to catch up on. She placed a gentle hand on his chest and began her best healing spell. His eyes opened, and took on a look of surprise.

“Hey, there, little brother.” she said softly. “It’s me, Leigh...your sister.” He was speechless for several minutes, and in the end, simply chose to hug her. It lasted several more minutes, and Leigh knew she couldn’t break his hold, even if she tried with all her strength.

“Am I interrupting?” Deanna asked from the doorway.

“It’s okay.” Leigh responded. “I don’t think my back could last another minute like this.”

“Sorry.” Kevin replied, letting her go. He noticed something in Deanna’s eyes. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I stopped by my apartment.” Deanna said. “It’s gone. Totally destroyed.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Pisa Pizza’s gone too.” she continued. “The owner doesn’t have enough money to reopen in a new location, to say nothing about fixing up the existing building.”

“You can stay with us if you want.” Kevin offered. Deanna smiled. “First things first, though. Let’s get me out of this hospital.”

Luther glared harshly from his hiding place. This was not one of the hive’s hires. His attitude was curious—curiously infuriating. He just walked in like he owned the place. Worse, Luthor could sense no aura about him. Risking his own life, he stepped forward to meet the stranger.

“So this is what you’ve been reduced to.” the stranger said. “Cowering in fear of intruders and sending out for food to keep yourselves from starving. There’s a better way, you know.”

“Who are you to invade our nest like this?” Luther demanded. “What do you have that makes you so fearless?”

“This.” the stranger replied, and black smoke poured out his mouth, coiling around Luther and flowing into his orifices. The other Vampires watched in fascinated horror as two batlike wings emerged from Luther’s back, ripping through his shirt. His formerly brown hair had turned jet black, as had his eyes—the appearance of the two black orbs caused several of them to shiver. Luther looked upon his clan with a grin on his face. The fear he had felt only moments ago was gone as if it had never been.

“My brothers, come!” he said. “We can take on Shadows instead of hiding from him!” Several approached, eager for the change. Others fled, preferring to be killed by Shadows and his Transcendents than risk the side-effects they suspected came with the change. In moments, twenty Vampiric males had gathered around Luther, who bit each of them on the neck, infecting him with his venom.