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This story is a sequel to Trapped in a Faerie Tale. I had the idea for this story some time ago and have been working on it off an on for the last year. I would classify it as an adventure story that has a TG theme, similar to the first story. If you haven't read the first story, I would like it if you did. It is not necessary that you do so before reading this tale, however. FINDING HAPPILY EVER AFTER (TRAPPED IN FAERIE TALE BOOK TWO) By Carleton Vincent You might think that meeting a faerie would be a stroke of brilliant luck. I mean, all the stories tell of them granting wishes, fulfilling hearts' desires, and leading the disenchanted to find their happily ever after. Well I'm here to tell you that those stories are a load of crap. The little refugee from a Disney feature who crossed my path sure didn't grant me my happily ever after. Instead, she cast a spell that turned my entire life on its end. You can read all about that in the first part of my story, of course. If you're short on time and don't want to read it, then let me just give you a quick synopsis. At the beginning of that particular tale, I was Shane Fletcher. I was a high school senior with a bright future in computer science ahead of me. Then, after an unfortunate encounter with a wand-waving pixie, I was forced to become Shauni Frazier. That's pretty much what you need to know for now. I'll fill you in on the rest as we go along. When this next chapter of my story begins, I am just a few weeks into my sophomore year of college. I had abandoned computer science as a course of study as a freshman and was now majoring in journalism. I guess I had lost the interest I once had in writing elegant lines of code and was now attracted to the idea of writing elegant lines of journalistic prose instead. This was the least of the changes I had experienced, of course. The faerie's spell had rewoven the fabric of my physical being, altering every cell in my body and changing me from male to female. But my biology was not all that had been affected. My psychology had been altered as well. As you might well imagine, adjusting to this radical metamorphosis had been difficult. It's hard to explain just exactly what it was like. I guess I'd have to say it was like stepping through the looking glass and finding myself in a strange alternate reality-a reality that looked deceptively similar to the world from which I had come but was, in fact, very different. In this new world, I found that others reacted to me in peculiar ways. They made different assumptions about me and had different expectations regarding my behavior. It seemed that there was a whole different set of unspoken rules that I was expected to follow. I, in turn, reacted very differently to others. I was driven by a different set of behavioral tendencies, and I found myself feeling and thinking very different things. Even my interests had changed. Topics that I could once talk about for hours and hours now held no attraction. And there were topics that now captivated my attention, which I would have never discussed prior to my transformation. I had begun to adjust to this strange world, I guess; and most days it was okay being female. Some days it was even better than okay; but then there were other days that it really sucked. Today was one of the latter types of days. I was sitting in my psychology class, feeling irritable and uncomfortable. My jeans were fitting a bit tight because-well-because I was a little bloated. You see it was-oh jeez-it was-that time of the month. Uhg! I still feel so embarrassed talking about that. Anyway, the jeans rode just high enough to dig into my slightly expanded abdomen. "Why did you wear these today, stupid," I chastised my self. On top of this discomfort, I was also feeling a bit on edge and a bit- well-emotional. Freaking hormones! The blonde-haired girl sitting a row behind me and a couple seats over was not helping. She was constantly fidgeting in her seat and swinging her leg so that it kept hitting the seat in front of her. The repetitive thump, thump, thump, was really getting to me. "Why can't she just sit still," I wondered. I was trying to ignore all of this and pay attention to Dr. Donner's lecture. "The important thing to remember about happiness is this," the middle-aged professor said with a rich tenor voice that projected throughout the lecture hall, "happiness comes from the way you live your life. From the set of mental habits you practice." The title of the course was The Psychology of Happiness, and it was filled mostly with psych majors. As a journalism major, I hadn't really needed to take anything beyond Psych 101. The course intrigued me, though, and I thought I would use up some of my elective hours to take it. I figured that learning a little about happiness couldn't hurt after everything I had been through. The professor, Dr. Ned Donner was a fifty-something-year-old man whose dark hair was peppered all over with grey. He was dressed casually in a pair of khaki slacks and a plaid, button down sport shirt. A slight drawl was evident when he spoke, which betrayed his southern Indiana origins. His relaxed, warm and easy manner had won my almost immediate affection. I always enjoyed his lectures, and I really didn't want to miss anything from this one. But paying attention was a real challenge today. Thump... thump... thump... went the girl's leg. I looked over my shoulder at her and shot her a dirty look. She just smiled brightly back at me and gave me a friendly wave. She seemed oblivious to the fact that I was about ready to strangle her. "Happiness does not come from having a lot of money," the professor said. "It does not come from being thin; it does not even come from having a stress free life. Research demonstrates this." "A stress free life," I reflected. "I wonder what that would be like." Thump... thump... thump. I turned around again to look at the girl. She was pretty with curling blond hair and elfin features. There was something strange about her, however; and I had the feeling I had seen her somewhere before-not in this class but somewhere else entirely. "Excuse me," I said forcing a tight smile. "Could you stop that, please? Kicking the chair in front of you, I mean. It's kinda getting to me." "Oh," she said, not having really been aware of what her leg had been doing. Her voice was uniquely beautiful. It sounded like-like notes piped out of a silver flute. "Okay," she continued. "I'm sorry, Shauni." "She knows my name," I thought. I was used to people coming up to me, thinking that they had known me before. This was part of spell that the faerie had cast. When she turned me from Shane into Shauni, she created a whole back-story for my new identity. She picked out a new family for me... a different set of friends... a new set of rivals... everything. I'd met one girl at a party my freshman year who thought we'd been friends since kindergarten. Another girl was under the delusion that I had beaten her in a fifth grade spelling bee. The faerie's spell had inserted me into their memories, and none of them seemed to have any idea that Shauni had, in reality, only existed for fifteen months. . I didn't think that the girl behind me was one of these people. Like I said before, there was something familiar about her. We had actually met. But where? Dr. Donner was going over the body of research and other statistics that supported his earlier statements about happiness. He talked, for example about studies of lottery winners that showed that, after they got over the initial joy of winning the prize, they generally were no happier than they were before becoming millionaires. I returned my attention to the task of jotting down as much of this information as possible. I had already missed quite a bit. Maybe I could get someone to show me their notes so I could fill in some of the blank spots. When class was over, I slung my book bag over my shoulder and made my way to the aisle. "Okay Shauni," I told myself, "just two more hours before you can head back to your dorm room, get out of these jeans, and lie down for a while." I stepped out of the old ivy covered building and into the sunny afternoon. The quad stretched out before me. Students were scattered about in the grass, taking advantage of the nice weather and studying outside. I made my way north towards the student union, the chunky heels of my shoes clip clopping on the cement walkway. A pleasant breeze blew gently through my hair. I was starting to feel a bit more at ease and relaxed. Then I heard someone call my name. "Wait up," she said. It was the blonde girl. She trotted up to me. "Can we talk a minute?" "You want to talk?" I replied-racking my brains and trying to remember where I had seen her before. "It's important?" she said. "You see-you are about to face a danger, and I must forewarn you." "Who are you?" I queried, shaken by her strange message. "You mean you don't recognize me, Shauni? I guess I do look a bit different-much bigger and a lot less green. I had to alter my appearance in order to come onto campus in broad daylight like this." Suddenly, I felt as though a tight coil was constricting around my chest. Gasping, I said; "Y-you can't be the..." "Yes I am," she said. "I'm Luella-the faerie who helped you last year." I had not expected her to say that-that she had helped me. I had figured that if I ever met up with the faerie again, she would say something more along the lines of "I'm really sorry about you getting stuck this way, let me explain how it happened after I fix the situation." "Helped me?" I shrilled incredulous. "You made a complete ruin of my life, forcing me to become female permanently. That's your idea of helping me?" Seeming taken aback by my response, she replied; "I guess from a certain point of view it might not look like I helped but..." "Just change me back, please. Change me back and this time don't screw things up." "Well, there's just one problem with that," she responded getting a little flustered. "And what would that problem be?" I demanded. "I-I uh-well I can't." "What do you mean you can't? You did this to me, so you can undo it." "There are certain limits to my power. I can only summon magic energy to intervene in human affairs when doing so tips the cosmic balance in the direction of order; and I'm afraid that changing you back into Shane would have the opposite effect. Wide-scale chaos and disharmony would be the result." "What are you talking about?" I demanded. "What hell is the cosmic balance?" "It is the scales upon which all deeds are weighed out. When the sum of all deeds promoting peace and harmony is greatest, then the scale tips towards order. When deeds promoting disorder and darkness create greater weight, then the scale tips towards chaos. Some deeds are heavier than others, because they have an impact of greater magnitude. Changing you into a male, it seems, would be a deed of great weight-of great weight indeed; and it would be placed onto the disorder side of the scale." "That's crazy," I cried. "Utterly crazy. This is a big universe, and I'm just one person. How can a simple act like changing me back into Shane, have such a great impact?" "I can only say that, as Shauni, you will have an important role to play in this world's future. Shauni is a thread that, if pulled out, will cause much to unravel. I cannot tell you more, because that would involve revealing too much about future events and..." "Yah, yah," I snapped bitterly, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Spare me the clich? 'knowing too much about your future can be dangerous' line." The faerie sighed. "Okay, I'll spare you that line, but there happens to be a lot of truth to it. But I don't have time to belabor that point. I must be leaving soon. It has been some time since I have recharged my energies, and I will not be able to hold this human form much longer. But before I go I must warn you." "Warn me about what?" I demanded. "You are in grave danger, from a brownie named Dagan. Like me, he is a magical creature-one of the fey. But he is evil. He is more evil than you can imagine, and he harbors dark designs for you and this world. He will be approaching you very soon, and he is going to try to draw you in and entice you with false promises. Do not listen to him, no matter what he tells you. "I have to go now, Shauni. Please-please heed my warning. I have risked much, delivering it to you." With that, she shimmered in the bright afternoon sun and disappeared. A guy passing by did a double take; but he seemed to decide that his eyes were playing tricks on him and continued on. I sank down onto a nearby bench and began massaging my temples. I could feel a headache coming on. "Just great," I thought. I felt my eyes grow wet. A tear rolled down my cheek. "Just when I thought the day couldn't get any worse," I groaned softly. "Shauni," I heard someone say. "Are you okay?" I looked up and saw the face of a dark-haired man with handsome angular features. It was Professor Egan, my academic advisor. There was concern in his bright, green eyes. "Doctor Egan," I blurted. I suddenly felt foolish crying right there on the quad. I wiped away my tears with the heels of my hands. "Nothing's wrong. I'll be okay." "You're not having problems with that old curmudgeon Dr. Brauer again, are you?" he prodded. "No," I said. "It's not him this time. It's nothing-really." "Well, my door is always open if you would like to talk." "Thanks professor." As Dr. Egan strode off towards Brinkman Hall, I checked the time and saw that I had just a few minutes to hoof it to my next class. I didn't want to go. Everything the faerie had said to me was swimming around in my aching head, and I just wanted to retreat to my dorm room and crawl under my covers. But the professor for my three o'clock class was handing out instructions for our next writing assignment. I would have to go to his office to get the instructions, if I missed class. So I got up off the bench and crossed the quad to Cohen Hall. When my three o'clock class was over, I was finally able to make the trek back to my dorm. I walked down Jefferson Avenue with my book bag slung over my shoulder. It felt so heavy this afternoon, pulling on me and dragging me down. "It isn't fair," I thought. A dull pain still throbbed behind my eyes. "I just wanted to be with my family again. Not the Fraziers. My real family. But I'm stuck like this. I'm stuck like this forever." I f you had asked me at that point if my day could possibly get any worse, I would have told you that it couldn't and would have called you an idiot for asking such a stupid question. I was in that kind of mood. Much to my dismay my day was about to get worse. As I trudged down Greene street, I passed a large brick house with stately colonial columns in front. Big white Greek letters were visible by the door. It was the Mu Iota Kappa house-a house with a reputation for being pretty selective. Some people characterized the members as arrogant and obnoxious. Three MIKe's brothers were gathered on the walkway in front of the house talking. I stopped at the intersection near them, waiting to cross. That's when one of the guys noticed me. "Hey, nice tits!" he called out. He was big with red hair. I didn't need this, especially not with everything else I was dealing with. I continued on across the intersection without saying anything. I didn't want to do anything that might encourage him. "Your ass is pretty sweet too," the red-haired guy said. Then he started to trot after me and suddenly, I felt my heart rate pick up. I hated this-feeling vulnerable that is. It was one of the things that sucked about being female. "Go for it Ryan," one of the other guys said. "She wants you, I can tell." "Come on, baby," Ryan said, coming up alongside me. "Don't be so stuck up." "Please just leave me alone," I said meekly. Ryan stepped around in front of me, blocking my way. "We're having a party Friday night," he said. "Why don't you come? It's gonna be a great time." When I tried to step around him, he moved so that I could not get past. "I'm not going to let you by until you promise me you'll come." The guy had all the savoir-faire of a cave man. He thought the way to pick up a girl was to bully her into submission. I moved my hand into my purse, wrapping my fingers around the pepper spray I kept there. Then someone called out, "Hey Ryan, leave her alone." I recognized the voice. I turned and saw a handsome young man with bright blue eyes and curling blonde hair. It was Nathan Stiles. We had been best friends once, but that was in a different lifetime. He was wearing a gray t-shirt with the Greek letters Mu Iota Kappa across the chest. "Can't you tell when a girl doesn't want anything to do with you?" he said. The red-haired guy shot an angry look at Nathan, but he stepped aside to let me pass. "Thanks Nathan," I said. Sometimes I thought about the long summer afternoons we had spent exploring the woods behind his house, and I missed his friendship; but other days I thought of him and felt resentment. "You're welcome, Shauni," he replied. I didn't want to feel resentment, but I found that I couldn't help it. It had been his wish, after all, that had sent the events in motion. He hadn't meant for this to happen. But still... "You know her?" I heard the red-haired guy ask Nathan with surprise. "I used to," he stated absently. I pushed through the door of Parker Residence Hall. It was one of the all-girls' dorms on campus. I fished through my purse for my keys and unlocked the door to the staircase. Then I clopped my way up the stairs to the third floor and unlocked the door there. There were more doors to unlock as a girl. There wasn't all this hassle in the guys' dorm. They could just breeze up to their rooms without worry. Heather, my roommate, was still at class; so the room was empty. I dropped my purse and book bag onto the floor near my desk, letting them thud. Then I plopped down onto my bed. It was then that I opened the valves to the waterworks and really started to cry. The sobs took hold of me, wrenching forth from my chest in a flood of tears. I cried like that until I was worn out and the wrenching sobbing became quiet weeping. I was still gently weeping, when Heather returned from class. I quickly dried the tears when I heard her at the door and grabbed a book, pretending to be buried in its pages. It was a feeble gesture, and Heather was not one to be fooled by such a ploy. "Want to go down to dinner?" she asked as she put away her things. She was a good-natured girl who wore her brown hair in sweeping bangs. She seemed to have made it her mission in life to teach others cheerfulness by example. My frequently bilious temper did little to dampen her resolve in this endeavor. "Nah," I told her. "Not hungry." She peered at me quizzically. "You've been crying," she said-concerned. "What's wrong, Shaun?" "What's wrong," I thought. "How can I tell her what's wrong. I can't very well tell her that I was visited by the faerie who screwed up my life a year and a half ago now can I? I can't tell her that this faerie told me that some other strange magical creature was about to start messing with me; and I couldn't tell her about Nathan, either-who had unwittingly set all this in motion." "It's nothing," I said. "Just... you know... that time." A knowing look flashed across Heather's face. She plopped down beside me and put an arm around my shoulders. "Well, I've got a remedy for that, girlfriend," she told me. Heather had remedies for everything. I looked over at her with a half smile. "And what would that remedy be?" "A hot fudge sundae, of course." I chuckled at her. "I had a feeling that's what you were going to say." She considered hot fudge sundaes to be the remedy for quite a number of life's ills. When I left the dorm the next morning to head off to my eight o'clock class, my spirits were a bit brighter. The morning sun was shining and dewdrops glistened among the blades of grass like lost diamonds. I was still experiencing effects of PMS, but I had at least had the sense to wear more comfortable clothing. I walked the route to Brinkman Hall, arriving fifteen minutes early. I was about to enter the main lecture hall when someone called my name. It was Professor Egan, my advisor. "If you don't mind, Miss Frazier," he said pleasantly, "I'd like to talk to you up in my office." "Class is beginning soon," I said. "Shouldn't I come up afterwards?" "This won't take long," he assured. I followed the professor through the old building to the stairs. We climbed to the second floor where faculty offices were located. He brought me to the door that said David A. Egan, Ph.D. on it and ushered me inside. Then he motioned to me to take a seat, lowering himself onto his own high backed desk chair. Okay. Let's have a show of hands. Who's figured out Professor Egan's true identity? It's fairly obvious, isn't it? D. A. Egan is really Dagan, the brownie that I was warned about just the day before. He had been monitoring me since the beginning of the semester, posing in the guise of a journalism professor. The Faerie had warned that he was more evil than I could imagine. But, even if I had seen through his guise, I would still have followed Dagan into the office. I was not completely sure that I could trust the pixie's warning, after all. She had done nothing so far that would assure me she could be trusted. And Dagan smiled buoyantly at me. It was the smile of a game show host or of a politician. A mask worn to charm and beguile. In my female form, I found him to be handsome. Handsome enough to make me want to believe that smile. And I did believe it. I did not see through his deception. Perhaps I would have were I still male. "You've proven yourself to be quite a promising student, Miss Frazier," he said. "I'm impressed by your list of accomplishments." "Thank you professor," I replied, blushing at this praise. "You've even earned a spot as junior editor on the school paper," he continued. "No sophomore in this program has ever done that before. I know, of course, that though you have racked up these impressive accomplishments; you are not quite happy." "I'm perfectly happy, professor," I countered-suddenly uneasy at the personal nature of his comment. He looked at me as though he expected me to make this denial and did not believe it. "It's understandable that you are less than happy, Shauni," he said sympathetically. "The adjustments you've had to make have been quite difficult." I peered at him suspiciously. "Adjustments?" "You should not have had to cope with this," he continued, gesturing down the length of my body and shaking his head in sadness, "nor should you have been made to suffer this estrangement from your family and friends. That is why I am here." That of course was when I finally realized who Professor Egan really was. "You're Dagan," I blurted. He nodded in acknowledgement. "At you service," he said. "I have come to help you. To correct this situation into which you have been so unfairly placed." "You're here to help me?" I said not daring to hope that it was true. Dagan emitted a good-natured laugh. "Of course, Shauni," He said. As he spoke this assurance, he waved a hand casually, causing a shower of red sparks to fall down over me. "Uhnn!" I gasped as I felt my body morph. My chest began to deflate. My skeleton stretched in places. My clothing rearranged itself, too. Moments later the transformation was completed. "Shauni Frazier is no more!" Dagan exclaimed. "You are Shane Fletcher once again." "I-I can't believe it," I managed to say breathlessly. So many nights I had lain in bed, longing to just be returned to my previous life. So many times I had dreamt about going home and seeing the look on the faces of my mother and father. Joy to have their son back. Relief that he was okay. Then I would awaken, realizing that I was still Shauni. As I looked down at myself, I feared that this too was a dream. I would awaken and find myself in my dorm room. But it wasn't a dream. It was real! I stood up and walked around the room, feeling the weight of a male body. I put my hand to my face and felt the sandpapery feel of stubble. "You did it!" I said at last. It was so strange to hear that voice emitted from my pipes again. Its gentle tenor seemed to echo in my ears. "Yes," agreed Dagan. "I have indeed. Of course, this change is only temporary." "Only temporary?" I echoed-feeling like the kid who had just been told by his older brother that it was really mom and dad who put the presents under the Christmas tree. "Th-this is only temporary?" I knew it had been too good to be true. "To make it permanent you must sign this standard contract," he said. He then waved his hand again and a legal form materialized on his desk. He pulled a pen out of the breast pocket of his tweedy jacket and placed it on top of the form. "I have to sign a contract?" I replied. "That's right," Dagan affirmed, slapping me on the shoulder. "And the sooner you sign, the sooner you can get about the business of picking up the pieces of your life. Just imagine how happy your parents will be to see you standing in their doorway." I took the pen. Its gold plating glinted in the fluorescent lighting of the office. I felt its cool weight in my hand. I would sign the contract. I would! I looked up at Dagan. There was a glint in his eye. Suddenly I was uneasy. I wasn't sure of this. I saw the phoniness of his smile. It broadened, stretching across that face. "Hurry up and do the deed," he said trying not to sound too eager. "I haven't got all day, you know," he added. Something about this was strange. Loud warning sirens were screaming into my ears. He was hungry for this, I realized. He wasn't just doing me a favor. "What is in this for you?" I asked, still holding the pen in my hand. "Why are you doing this for me?" "I get the satisfaction of seeing a wrong righted," he said-not dropping his fa?ade for even a millisecond. "That is what I'm getting out of this. That and nothing more." "Then why do you need me to sign a contract?" I said. "If you really just want to help me, why can't you just make this change permanent without a piece of paper?" "I come here to do you a favor and you are questioning my motives?" he said, feigning indignance. How easily he donned his disguises. He was the master of quick changes. "It makes me wonder whether you deserve my good will, Shane. Now, if you want to return to your previous life, sign the contract. Otherwise, I'll be on my way." "What's this line here?" I pressed. "It says, I agree that Dagan and his associates bear no responsibility for any potential consequences resulting from the aforementioned magical transformation and therefore are exempt from any potential negative karmic repercussions." "Just a standard clause," Dagan said brushing away my question with a gesture of his hand. "What sort of negative consequences are going to result?" I persisted. "The fairy told me that Shauni was a thread that, if pulled out, would cause much to unravel. What will unravel if I become Shane permanently? And if you are not to bear responsibility for the damage done, who will? Me?" "You're going to trust Luella?" he said. "After she has made such a mess of your life?" "Whether or not I trust her is not the issue," I returned. "The issue is whether or not I trust you? It seems to me that this contract is constructed to protect you from 'negative karmic repercussions' but does not grant me any such protections." Dagan let out a long laugh then. When he was finished, he reached over and gave me a slap on the back. "I told them that this wouldn't work," he said, as if conceding me a victory. "I told them that you were too clever, and it is now abundantly clear that I was correct. Shane, I'm not supposed to be doing this, but I'm going to have to put my cards on the table with you." "Okay," I replied with caution. "Then let's see those cards." "I guess I should start by telling you that I am an agent of the forces of chaos. As such, it is my job to use my magical powers to shake things up a bit. I am compelled to dismantle order where I find it. There are limits, however, on how I may use my powers. Like the pixie Luella, I can only intervene in human affairs through the granting of wishes. "Therefore, I spend my time traveling around seeking out mortals whose wishes will trigger a victory for the forces of chaos. Often, this is more difficult than you might think. Usually people wish for foolish things that ultimately have little or no impact on the grand scheme. Then there are people like you. People whose wishes will have an impact. A noticeable impact. You, my boy, are like a rare treasure to a creature such as myself." "What am I going to do as Shauni to affect the world so significantly," I said. "It is not what you yourself will do so much as how your actions will influence the actions of others. I am not allowed to go into all the details, or I certainly would. Suffice to say that removing Shauni from this reality will cause a chain reaction of events that will result in a victory for me and my associates." "So if I sign this contract, chaos will eventually result. I will be responsible for screwing up the world more than it already is." "Don't you ever watch the news, boy?" the Brownie responded. "Everyday there are stories about new wars breaking out; old wars raging on; democracies crumbling; people suffering and starving. There's plenty of chaos in the world already. What's it to you if there's a little more. You need not worry about that. You, yourself, will not be affected. In fact, you could even profit. There are always those who profit from disaster. People who have the foresight to take advantage. I can tell you where to be and what to do. You'll end up a very wealthy man-one of the elite of this world." "And I'll be the one to bear the karmic burden for whatever consequences result," I said. "My guess is that is not good. It sounds like I'll eventually have to suffer pay back for whatever misery results." "Yes," admitted the brownie. "We were trying to leave you holding the karmic bag. But you were too clever." Then, leaning forward and speaking in a conspiratorial tone, he said; "I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll alter the contract and include you under the umbrella of protection. I'm not supposed to do this. My higher ups won't like it, but I see no other choice. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll get to work on making the alterations to this contract. This is going to take a tricky bit of magic on my part, and the new contract won't be ready until tomorrow morning." "Save yourself the trouble," I told him. "I'm not going to sign it no matter what changes you make." "What?" "You heard me. I'm not going to sign." "Don't be a fool," Dagan replied. "I'm offering you your life back. And I'm not only protecting you from negative consequences, I'm ensuring you a bright future. How can you pass that up?" "I can pass it up, because I have a conscience." "Conscience?" snorted the brownie. "What is that going to get you? Look out for yourself, Shane. Why shouldn't you? Why shouldn't you do what will be best for you and the people you care about? That's how to get ahead in this world." "Thanks for saying that," I said, turning to leave. "You've just convinced me that I'm making the right choice." "You'll change your mind," I heard Dagan say, as I left his office. "I will see to that. I have the power to make you suffer in ways you never imagined. You will beg me for a second chance to sign this contract; that I promise you." As I walked down the hallway, I began to morph back into Shauni. I felt my body twist and remold itself. The bloated uncomfortable feeling returned to my abdomen. I stopped long enough to look down at my body and sigh heavily. Then I went out onto the quad. Not many students were around at this early hour. I went to the nearest bench and plopped down. I had just been Shane again. My old life had been within my reach, but the price tag had been too high; so I had had to pass on the chance. It had been like tearing out a piece of my heart. I started to weep. Yes, I was crying again. You're probably thinking that I am an emotional wreck by now. But if you were going through what I was, you'd understand. Anyway, I had not been there on the bench for very long before I felt the presence of someone else beside me. "I know how hard that was for you, Shauni," I heard a female voice say. I looked up; eyes wet with tears, I saw the blurry image of the faerie in her human guise. She put a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me. "You did great." "Don't touch me!" I cried, pulling away from her and getting up from the bench. "I don't want you to touch me! I hate you! I hate you for showing up in Nathan's living room and wrecking my life." The faerie's expression turned somber. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Shauni," she said. "I'm sure in time, though, that you will come to realize that this is all..." "Stop!" I shrilled at her. "Stop right there. I do not want to hear it. Whatever you are about to say... what ever platitude you are going to spit out about me someday realizing this is all for the best-save it." With that, I turned away from the faerie and stormed off down the walkway. My head was swirling with angry thoughts, and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I didn't care where I was going as long as it was away from that poor excuse for a Tinkerbelle. Then I was jarred out of my bitter mood, when I bumped into someone who was just coming out of O'Connell Hall. "Shane?" said the guy on the receiving end of my clumsiness. I looked up, startled to hear someone refer to me by my old name. It was Seth! Seth of all people. There at that particular moment. He was one of the small circle of people who new that Shauni was a persona created by fairy magic. And he was privy to the bitterly ironic truth: that I been forced to become Shauni permanently so that Nathan and I would not be wrongly convicted of Shauni's murder. "It's probably a good thing you didn't sign that contract," Seth said, putting his coffee cup down onto the small table of the coffee shop, after I had told him my story. "In all the stories I've ever heard about magical contracts, they seemed to always come back and haunt the person who signed them; like in the story Rumplestiltskin, for example." "This reminds me more of Faust," I replied, "or maybe Washington Irving." "A deal with the devil," Seth said, echoing my meaning. He considered this for a moment and then nodded. "That does seem like a more apt analogy." I smiled at my old friend and squeezed his knee. "Thanks for skipping class to hear my story," I said. "It was good to get all of this off my chest." "Of course, I skipped class to listen to you," he said in a gallant tone that was unintentionally comical. "You're my friend." I smiled at him again. I was glad that I'd bumped into him on the quad. It was a fortunate coincidence. The first bit of good luck I'd experienced for awhile; if it had indeed been luck. Perhaps the faerie had orchestrated our meeting. It seemed that she was good at bending probability to create "coincidental" occurrences such as this. "I should have called you," I said. "I should not have broken off contact the way I did. It's just that seeing you guys reminded me of everything I lost." "Do you miss being a boy that much?" "Well adjusting to a new gender isn't a picnic, but what really has bothered me most is losing my family. My parents. My brothers. I can't even show up at their doorstep for a visit. I have to pretend that I don't know them now, and I have to let them go on thinking that Shane is gone. Can you imagine what that's like?" "I don't get it," Seth interjected. "Why do you have to let them go on believing that? You could do what Captain Kirk did in Episode 79 of the original Star Trek series." "What did Captain Kirk do in episode 79?" I asked him. "You don't remember?" he said-disbelief in his tone. "Not all of us are walking Star Trek episode guides," I responded-mildly irritated. "I mean I liked the show, but..." "In Episode 79, Captain Kirk was trapped in the body of Janice Lester. He convinced McCoy and Spock of his true identity by telling them things that only Kirk would know. That convinced Spock to perform a mind meld and..." "I tried that," I said flatly. "I tried that and it didn't work. My mom thought I was crazy. She had heard the story we gave the police and the reporters that Shauni had been the prisoner of the Blood Hound Killer, and she figured my marbles had been rattled around a little by the experience. When I persisted in my attempt to convince her that I was really her son Shane, she threatened to call the police. She told me that if I showed up on her doorstep again, she would get a restraining order." "I don't get it," Seth said-flummoxed. "It should have worked." "This isn't Star Trek, or any other television show," I said bitterly. "This is reality; and in reality things don't always work out the way we want them to." "I guess you've got a point there," he conceded. "Reality bites; and that's all the more reason why you shouldn't cut me out of your life, or Tanner and Nathan either. We are your friends, and we want to help you through this." I reached over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks Seth." When we were leaving the coffee shop, Seth told me that his Greek house was having a party that Friday night. He was a member of Chi Sigma Epsilon, a house populated exclusively by computer science majors and engineering students. "Why don't you come?" he said. "I'll go," I told him. "Great," said Seth with a smile. "I'll see you then." I managed to trudge on through the rest of my week, and when Friday finally came, I felt pretty drained. I really didn't feel like going to Seth's party. I just wanted to lie in bed, hiding under the covers. But I couldn't blow Seth off after he had been so sweet to me. So, after a barely edible dinner in the dorm cafeteria, I went up to my room to get dressed. I picked out my denim pencil skirt and a really cute sweater I had found while I was shopping with... Oh for God's sake listen to me. Anyway, when I was dressed in my skirt and sweater, I left for the Chi Sigma Epsilon fraternity house, dragging Heather, and another girl from my floor named Brittany, along with me. "I can't believe I let you talk me into going to a Siggie party, Shaun," Brittany said, as the three of us clopped along in our heels. "We should be going to the party at the MIKe's house instead." "I am not going to the MIKe's party," I said emphatically. The Siggie fraternity wasn't just a house of computer nerds like Brittany thought. Some insanely successful people had been XEE brothers when they were at Ellsbury University. There was Conrad Jaymes the CEO of Geosync Systems, for example. Then there was the shuttle astronaut Jay Kiles. The house was a large old colonial style mansion like many of the other Greek houses on campus. Inside, the party was just getting going. Seth and his frat brothers greeted us enthusiastically. I was handed a margarita pretty quickly, which I must say was pretty good. There was even salt on the rim of the glass. It wasn't long after that, before I was asked to dance. The guy seemed pretty nice-maybe a little on the nerdy side. Anyway, I said, "yes." I danced with a few more guys after that and was having a pretty decent time. Heather looked like she was having a good time, too, and Brittany looked like she wasn't completely miserable, which was about the best that could be hoped for. We took a break after a few dances and were quickly offered another round of margaritas. "Alright, we've been here awhile" Brittany said as she sipped her drink. "Can't we leave and go to the MIKe's party?" "No," I said. "Come on Shaun, what's with you?" Brittany demanded. "We have been here for awhile," Heather said reasonably, "and Brit really wants to go to the MIKe's party. It can't hurt just to go check it out." "I told you, there's no way I'm going to that house. You guys can go if you want to, but I'm staying here." "I don't want to leave Shaun behind," Heather said. "Why are you so against going?" asked Brittany. I sighed. "A MIKe made some rude comments about my anatomy when I passed the frat house the other day. Then the jerk tried to hit on me. He did everything but pull out a club, smash me on the head, and drag me to his cave." "That's why you don't want to go?" asked Brittany. "Yah," I said. Of course, this was only a half truth. My encounter with the Neanderthal Ryan was only one factor contributing to my refusal to go to the Mu Iota Kappa fraternity. The other factor, as you may have guessed, was Nathan. I just wasn't ready to face him again. "Oh, Shaun," Brittany sighed. "You have just got to learn how to handle obnoxious guys, that's all. And you can't get so worked up when they say that kind of stuff. I can't believe you've not gotten used to it yet. I mean look at you. You look like you just stepped off the cover of a magazine. Didn't guys say rude stuff to you all through high school?" "I didn't look like this in high school." "You were a late bloomer?" asked Heather. "I suppose you could put it that way," I said absently. After we finished our Margaritas, I told Heather to go ahead and go to the MIKe's party. Heather didn't want to go without me. She was mainly concerned that I would be walking home alone from the Siggie party. "There was a girl attacked on campus over the summer semester," she reminded. After I promised her that I would get Seth to walk me home at least three times, and Brittany pouted and whined, Heather agreed to the arrangement. I stayed at the Siggie party about an hour longer without them, before finally asking Seth to walk me home. "Sure," Seth said. I hated this. I hated feeling afraid to walk just half a mile to my dorm by myself. "I just need to check on Darwin before we go. It's my job to keep an eye on him tonight." Seth went up to his room and came back down with a flashlight. I'd seen it before. He'd had it the night we went looking for the faerie in the woods behind Nathan's house. It was some kind of super powered led light that could practically project a beam up to the clouds. I followed Seth as he went onto the back porch of the house. There was a small back yard that was enclosed by a row of hedges. A chain, which was apparently supposed to be attached to Darwin's collar, was staked into the grass. Darwin was not there,and his water dish looked as though it had been kicked over. "Shit!" exclaimed Seth. "It was my job to watch him." "How did he get free?" I asked. "He didn't get free. They took him. Those assholes took him." "Who would take him?" "The MIKes," Seth explained. "They took him last year as a prank, and they shaved off all his hair. The poor dog was traumatized." "Wait," I said. "I hear something. Gravel crunching." "There's an alley behind those shrubs. Maybe the guys that took him are still close by." "I see them." I pointed at shadowy figures beyond the hedges. "It looks like there's two or three of them. Get some of your frat brothers, quick." "There isn't time," he said, and with that, he bolted out through the hedges. Clutching my purse tightly, I followed him. I wasn't sure what I could do to help, but I wasn't going to let Seth face those jerks alone. I ran after Seth, trying to keep up as well as I could in my high-heeled boots and skirt. Once I got into the alley, I could see the shadowy figures of three MIKes, dragging poor Darwin-a big, shaggy Burmese mountain dog-along with them. He yelped and whined, not sounding at all happy about his predicament. "Damn it," cried Seth, as we ran. "They're too far ahead of us." I could see the MIKes brothers leaving the alley to enter their own back yard. Seth stopped running, realizing he could not catch them before they got inside. "Well, we know where they are going," I said reasonably. "We'll just go on into the MIKes house and get Darwin back. "I don't know if you've taken a good look at me lately, Shaun, but I'm not exactly capable of taking on a whole house." "I'm not suggesting you duke it out with them, stupid. Nathan's in that house. We just have to find him and make him give us your dog back. He owes me pretty big, if you remember." "Nathan's not going to go against his whole house. And if he did, he's just a sophomore. He's got no clout, and they'll just blow him off." "Well, we'll see about that." The three guys were at the back door of their frat house, at that point. There was a light by the door, which allowed me to see them better. One of them was a big red-haired guy. It figured. That's just the way my luck was going lately. "Hey!" I called out. The guys stopped, turned around and peered out into the darkness. I stepped into their yard where they could see me. The red haired guy smiled. "Why don't you just put a hold on your stupid little prank and give me that poor dog," I said, as I stepped up onto the porch with them. Seth stood right behind me. "Alright, toots," Ryan said. "We'll give you the dog." He took the dog's leash and held it out for me to take. Then, when I reached to grab it, he pulled it away. He smiled smugly at me. He thought he was being cute. "Come inside and join our party," he said, "and I'll let your dork friend here have his doggie." I opened my mouth to tell him what he could do with his party, but then Ryan caught me with his eyes. They were hazel with flecks of gold. Suddenly, I was confused. What was I here for? "Come inside and join the party," he repeated. "And let's see a smile on that pretty face. We're going to have a lot of fun." I smiled, obediently; and I followed him inside. "Wow, Ryan," I heard one of the other guys say. "I didn't know you had this kind of power over women. It's like you got her hypnotized or something." "Hypnotized," I echoed absently. Then I heard Seth's muffled complaints. I turned and saw him being barred from entry into the house by the third guy. There was a shaggy dog with him. One of those Burmese mountain dogs. Seeing Seth and the dog made bells go off in my head. The clouds seemed to clear from my mind. I'd come here to help him get that dog, I remembered. I had been angry at the guys who took him. "Hey," I objected. "What am I doing in here?" Ryan caught my eyes again. "You are here for the party," he told me. "Oh yah," I agreed. "You're going to have a good time, too." "Okay." Ryan put his arm around me and led me into another room. "You decided to come after all, Shaun," someone said to me. It was Heather. It seemed right that she was here. Brittany was here, too. I could see her on the dance floor with some guy. That also seemed right. The two of them had left to come here. But why had I come? Hadn't I wanted to avoid this place? These questions were once again lost in a cloud as Ryan looked into my eyes. "You really like me," he told me. "You're going to hang on me, as we go to get a drink." I found myself getting closer to him. My arm snaked around his. Ryan handed me a bottle of some kind of hard lemonade. I sipped from it dreamily, as I swayed back and forth to the music. Ryan pulled me in towards him and gave me a kiss. We began to make out there in the corner of the room with the party going on around us. "We're going to go up to my room now," Ryan told me with a broad grin. I found myself climbing a curving staircase with him up to the second level of the house. We walked down a hallway and entered a room. There were two beds in here, a couple desks and a closet. The walls were covered with pictures of girls from beer ads. Ryan locked the door and then brought me over by his bed. "I'm going to help you out of that sweater now," he said. "My sweater," I repeated. It was a nice sweater. I'd found this sweater at the mall while shopping with my mom. Well-she wasn't really my mom. She just thought she was my mom. It was all part of the faerie's spell. Why was I taking it off, anyway? Ryan grabbed at the bottom of the sweater and began to pull it up. I moved my hand to stop him. "No," I said. Then he looked into my eyes. I felt my mind getting clouded again. This was a spell, I realized. I tried to fight it. I struggled, to keep focused, but it was so hard. That's when the faerie popped into the room with her characteristic shower of green sparks. She waved her wand, showering me with more green sparks. Suddenly, everything was clear once again. "Hey!" I said, stepping back and pulling away from Ryan. "Get your hands off me!" Suddenly, the door to the closet burst open and out popped a little man. He was only about two-feet tall, and he was dressed all in green. I recognized him instantly as Dagan. He had somewhat of a more impish appearance in this form, but there was still no mistaking him. "Curse you and your interference, Luella," he cried. Then he waved his hand and shot a bolt at the small pixie. She slammed against the wall and fell limp to the floor. Enraged, I tried to kick the little man in the face; but just before my heel made contact with his teeth, he disappeared. I ended up stumbling and falling to the floor. The brownie reappeared by the door, laughing. "You little bastard," I cried. "You put a spell on me." "Actually, the spell was cast on your friend Ryan here," he corrected gleefully. "He was quite smitten by you it seems. I gave him the power to cloud the minds of women, so that he could get a night with you; but it appears that Luella has made you immune. No matter, though. It shall just make it more fun for the lad here if you put up a bit of a fight." "I won't get in any trouble for this?" Ryan asked the brownie. "I told you I would take care of that," Dagan replied-impatiently. "Now hurry up and bed her, lad. That is what you wished for, is it not." Ryan advanced on me. I backed away and screamed as loud as I could. "Help!" I cried. "I'm being attacked!" The brownie laughed gleefully. "That won't be doin' ya any good," he said. "I put this room in a cube of silence as a precaution." Ryan grabbed my wrist. I tried to twist free but I wasn't strong enough to break his grip. "Just relax and enjoy it," he said with a grin. He began to pull me towards his bed. I struggled some more to get free. My heart was pounding. "Just relax, babe," Ryan repeated. "You're gonna like it, I promise." "There is a way you could stop this, of course," said the brownie. "Just give me your word that you will sign th-mmph!" Dagan was cut off midsentence when the door to the room burst open and slammed into him. Someone had kicked it open. Startled, Ryan released his grip on my wrist and turned to see who it was. A tall blonde-haired and blue-eyed young man glared back at him, looking like an avenging angel. It was Nathan! Nathan had shown up just in time to rescue me from Ryan. I didn't know how he had known I needed rescuing, and at that moment, I didn't care. I was just glad that he was there. Later, when we had more time to talk, I got the whole story. Nathan had apparently been drinking beer and talking to some of his brothers when he felt his cell phone vibrating urgently in the pocket of his jeans. He pulled it out and saw a name he had seen for sometime. Seth's name. Stepping away from his friends, he took the call. Seth quickly brought him up to speed on what was going on. "What do you mean she's under a spell?" Nathan demanded. "One minute she was really mad, looking like she could freeze someone with her eyes," Seth said. "Then the red-haired guy looked at her and her eyes glazed over. It was really strange." Nathan looked up and scanned the crowd for me. Then he saw me, hanging all over Ryan. My eyes looked glazed over, just as Seth had described. It was like I was drugged. "I'm calling the police," Seth's voice said from the receiver. "Alright," Nathan agreed absently, already trying to move towards me through the crowd of people. Just at that moment, however, a large influx of people suddenly appeared at the party. They streamed into the room, crowding it beyond capacity. It was as though half the students on campus had suddenly dropped what they were doing and had shown up at the MIKes house. Why had Brad and Tim (the guys on door duty at that time) let them all in, Nathan wondered. My would-be rescuer found that the crowd had become so dense that he could not get through. He shouted but everyone acted as though they could not hear him. He watched helplessly, as I ascended the main staircase with Ryan to the second floor. That's when a blonde-haired girl came to him. She knew his name, but he did not remember meeting her before. "I need to talk to you in private," she said. "I can't now," he returned. "I can help you get to her, but we've got to get somewhere where others can't see. Hurry, we don't have time to waste." She led him out the back door of the frat. Seth was still there, waiting in the shadows. Seeing Nathan come out the back door, he emerged. He looked at Nathan and then at the young woman, confused. "Where's Shaun?" he asked. That's when the faerie took her natural form. Nathan was surprised to see her again after all those months. Seth, who had never seen her, was astounded at her appearance. Speaking quickly, the faerie told Nathan that the people who had suddenly shown up at the party had all been summoned there by the wicked brownie, Dagan. They were bewitched and would not let anyone pass through to get upstairs while Ryan had me up there. She could not dismiss the crowd, but she could cast a spell so that the crowd would part for my would-be rescuer. "Now hurry," she told him. "Wait," said Seth. "What about me?" "You've called the local guard," she said. "That is the role you are meant to play. Now you must run meet them in the front of this manor. Answer their questions as honestly as you can but leave out all reference to me or anything magical. Try to find a mundane explanation for the sudden change in Shauni's behavior that you witnessed. Understood?" "Yes," answered Seth. "Alright," Nathan said-agitated. "Let's get about it." The faerie cast her spell on Nathan and then popped up into Ryan's room. Nathan found that as he approached people they stepped aside. The crowd was parting for him just as the faerie had said it would. "What the fuck are you doing, Nathan!" Ryan demanded as he glared at his frat brother. "I'm about to score here." His eyes blazing, Nathan smashed his fist into Ryan's nose. The big red haired guy stumbled backwards, flipped over his bed and landed in an odd heap on the floor. "Shit!" he exclaimed as blood began to pool in his nostrils. "Are you all right?" Nathan asked me. "Y-yes," I managed to answer. "Alright," Dagan said. Nathan spun around, seeing the impish little creature, crawl out from behind the door and climb shakily to his feet. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to get really nasty now. The kid gloves are coming-uhnnff!" A bolt of green energy struck the brownie in the chest and sent him flying backwards. It came from the faerie. She rose slowly from the floor, hovering uncertainly. Then she turned and sent a bolt of energy at Ryan who was climbing to his feet with his hand over his nose and his face purple with rage. He fell back limply onto his roommate's bed. "Are you sure you're okay?" Nathan pressed, as we left the room and went to the main stairs. "I'm fine," I assured. From the top of the stairs, we saw a scene of utter pandemonium. There was a throng of people below us; and more seemed to be trying to get in. A couple campus police officers were frantically trying to maintain order, but it seemed like things were about ready to erupt into a full scale riot. "What the heck is going on?" I said. "This is Dagan's doing," the faerie said. "He hoped the chaos would keep Nathan from getting to you on time. "Is there anything you can do?" I asked the faerie. "I'm afraid that this is going to have to run its course. I can't break the spell. But at least you'll be safe from Dagan in that crowd. He won't do anything to you with so many witnesses around. I must leave you now for the same reason. If all those people see me, they'll be hell to pay. "Wait," I said. "We might need your help again. Can't you change yourself to look human?" "That won't be necessary, I'll be watching over you; and if Dagan tries to bother you again tonight I'll return." Nathan and I walked along a quiet street, heading back towards the girls' dormitories. A quiet hung over the campus that seemed almost preternatural. I might have been on edge, worried that Dagan might try to strike at us while no witnesses were about; but I was just too tired. I had been up all night after giving a statement to the police. We were walking home from the station now, and the eastern sky was now beginning to grow pale. "Thanks again for finding my purse for me," I said. "I'd set it down while your frat brother had me in a trance, and I had no idea where." "Sorry about him," Nathan said regretfully. "You aren't responsible for the actions of your frat brothers." "Well, anyway, the police seemed pretty convinced that he had slipped you something like Rhoypnol," Nathan said. "Yah," I replied flatly. "Well, the blood tests won't back that up." Nathan shrugged. "Still, he'll probably get kicked out of school. At the very least he'll be out of MIKes house. There were a lot of people who gave a consistent account of you being led upstairs looking like you were in a daze. The university has really cracked down on this sort of thing, so it's likely they'll come down hard on Ryan." "I figure the jerk has it coming," I replied. "I mean I'm not big on payback or anything, but he deserves to suffer some serious consequences." "Well, Shaun, if you need anything; you can call me." "Thanks, Nathan," I said. "I've missed you, you know." I sighed. "I've missed you, too." "Freshman year we were in Psych 101 together. Every class session, I'd come into the lecture hall and see you sitting near the front of the class. I had such an urge to go up to you and say hi, but..." "But you figured I blamed you for the fact that I am now sporting a bra," I finished. "Well-yes." "I don't blame you Nathan," I told him. And I didn't blame him. Or, at least, I didn't want to. He had no idea that things would unfold in the way they did, after all. He was a pawn. Just like me. The faerie had been moving us about on the board trying to win some cosmic battle against the forces of chaos. "You shouldn't be blaming yourself for it either," I said to him. "You're too hard on yourself as it is." "I've gotten better about that," he told me. "Been seeing a guy at the student counseling center. He's helped me look at how I think about things, and now I don't get the downs the way I used to." I looked over at him. "That's good, Nathan," I said seriously. I thought of Dr. Donner's words. Happiness comes from the mental habits you keep. It seemed that Nathan had learned new mental habits. "You helped me, you know," he said-looking at me with those bright blue eyes of his. "You were always there for me, trying to pull me out of the dumps. I might not have ever said anything, but I really appreciated it. That's why I want to be there for you now. That's why I'm going to be there for you." I felt deeply touched by his words, and I didn't know how to respond. I couldn't find the words to express how I felt about what he'd just told me. All I could do was give him a smile. "We'll talk soon," I said, as we came to my dorm. "Yah," Nathan agreed, blue eyes glittering magically. Suddenly he was wound up like a spring. I could see that there were words on his tongue that were begging to be spoken, but I turned away and slipped through the door. During the next couple days, rumors about a wild party at the MIKes house were flying all around campus. I made sure that the story that appeared in the campus paper was pretty factual, hoping that this would quell the wild stories. Unfortunately, many people just weren't going to allow themselves to be confused by the facts, and misinformation continued to be spread. Some of these rumors were ridiculously exaggerated. I overheard someone saying that several girls had been slipped rophies at a MIKes party and then robbed of their maidenly virtues by a group of swaggering MIKes brothers. I could help but checkle at this bizarre distortion of actual events. My name was left out of the paper, but some on campus seemed to have heard that I was involved. I didn't like that, at all. I didn't want to be known as the girl who was almost date-raped at the MIKes house. The MIKes house didn't seem too pleased with the attention they were getting either. Township officials and community groups (who already shared a strained relationship with the university) were up in arms over reports of the frat party that had escalated out of control. They did not like their quiet, small town, life disrupted by the raucous behavior of drunken university students. Women's groups on campus were in a fury as well. Parents were demanding to know what the university was doing to keep their daughters safe. All this meant that the Mu Iota Kappa house was now at the center of a storm of controversy. There were calls for strong official sanctions against them. Some even wanted the house to lose its charter. Monday evening, Nathan called my cell. "I don't want to alarm you, Shaun, but I think you might want to make sure you don't go out anywhere alone. Even to class." "Why?" I demanded. "Well, Ryan approached me this morning and made some threats. He told me that he was going to make sure that charges against him didn't go anywhere. When I asked him how he planned to pull that off, he said that there wouldn't be much of a case against him once the two main witnesses disappeared." "So he's threatening to wipe you and I out?" I responded nervously. "I think he's capable of it. He's been acting real strange lately. So I called Seth. He's arranged to have no less than three of his frat brothers with you at all times." "I don't think that's going to do any good," I said. "I mean, he's got Dagan on his side. A few Siggies won't be any match against him." "True, but the faerie said that Dagan wouldn't attack you with witnesses around. Probably, these creatures want to limit how many people know about their existence. So having a group of guys with you might deter him." "Well, I guess that might work." "There'll be a group of them on the benches by