No Greater Love (Part 2 Of 2) free porn video

"No Greater Love" (John 15:13) (Part Two of Two) By Zapper The Society is losing the war and the Syndicate is moving toward its end game. Abominations from distant Shadow-Realms now swarm into the Human Realm. Magic is rising and soon all huminty will have to face the fact that magic is very real. John and Meka are stuck in an impossible situation, sharing a body! All they want to do is hunt down Max and get Meka back into her rightful body, but Victor and Gwendolyn have other plans. Soon it becomes a race against time to save the world and stop the Syndicate. Magic, war, love, sex, possession, body-theft, and gender swapping all complicate the situation in this final book about John and Meka. Author Note: 1: My dear friend Brittany Cosco, aka - Mekalicious, Mekalicious Soulstorm, and Meka passed away in February 2016. Her light was snuffed out too early and I miss her deeply. I wrote this story, and submit it for your enjoyment, as a tribute to Brittany. 2: Brittany loved possession and body-swapping stories. She was a huge fan of erotica, action, and suspense. I've tried to capture these elements in this story. 3: Lastly, I wanted to give BobH, Eric, and Doc VS a shout out for their friendship and beta reading. A VERY special thank you to Mr. 20" Biceps. He encouraged me, discussed ideas with me, and stayed after me to make sure this story was written. His Beta and Proof reading are always invaluable but his friendship has been worth more than all the rest. *************************************** Chapter 8 *Meka and John* *************************************** John fought his way toward consciousness. The dreams he'd had, had been filled with color, light, and non-stop battle with creatures out of his worst nightmares. The most disturbing thing had been that in every dream he'd been wearing Meka's body! He lifted a hand to brush back the hair on his face and froze, 'Why do I have hair on my face?' The room was dark and he was cocooned in a soft warm bed. John had to fight the urge to wiggle deeper into the bed and just go back to sleep. Instead, he pushed back the covers and sat up. The sensation of a soft weight shifting on his chest brought the recent events back and he reached up to cup his soft naked boobs. Then knowing what he'd feel, he reached between his legs. The ill-fitting men's briefs did nothing to hide the fact that his almost hairless crotch lacked his normal equipment. "Oh, shit. I didn't dream that Meka and I had been fused together, it really did happen." "Meka?" Hearing nothing, he reached out with his mind. Inside his head he heard what sounded like a man snoring. "Okay, now that's weird." Then he shook his head feeling his long hair tossing from side to side. "I refuse to believe that I snore!" John lifted a hand and felt the connection to his crystal, "Lux." Blue- white light filled the room. Spotting a light switch John moved to the door and turned it on releasing his spell. Then he felt the urge pee. The bedroom had an attached bathroom and, gratefully, he moved into it. He stopped when he saw Meka looking back at him from the mirror. "I never thought I'd see your face in a mirror again." John looked down at his chest. His tits were just as he remembered them. Pale skin and bright pink nipples the size of silver dollars, Meka's breasts were just over a double handful of soft flesh. Trying his best to ignore them John pulled his briefs down over the flare of his hips and kicked them to one side. Then he turned and settled onto the toilet. It took a bit to remember which muscles to squeeze and what to relax but the relief of peeing felt as good as a girl, as it did as a man. Remembering to blot John stood up and flushed the toilet and then looked at the shower. 'Meka?' Once again heard a faint snoring in his mind. When Phillip had shown them to this room John had felt an almost crushing weight of exhaustion. He'd wasted no time stripping down to his briefs and diving under the covers. Now, when he looked into the mirror he could see sweat streaks through the dirt on Meka's face. He ran a hand through the tangled mess of his hair and sighed. "Getting this straightened out is gonna suck." John went to the shower and started it and, once it warmed-up, he stepped in. He let out a hiss as the full impact of hot water on his sensitive chest startled him. "I forgot how sensitive these things are." Then spotting body-wash and a loofa John got to work cleaning up. He tried to stay focused on the task of getting clean, as the water sluiced off his flesh. Yet the more he fought to ignore the feminine sensations assaulting his brain the more his body seemed to respond. Rubbing his soft breasts turned into sensual caressing, and then a hand drifted down between his legs. Meka's tiny landing strip led to a set of lips, swollen with need. John's exploring fingers sent tiny jolts of pleasure racing through his body. The lips seemed to open slightly exposing Meka's engorged clit. John continued stroking and rubbing, now using tiny circles with his fingers to stimulate his clit. It felt like someone had gotten ahold of his cock and began caressing it. On instinct he pushed a finger inside while continuing to rub. The deep ache, the need to be filled, was more than he could take and he leaned forward to rest a hand on the shower wall while pushing two fingers deep into Meka's pie. "Ohhhhh..." he heard the sound of a woman moaning in pleasure and it took John a moment to figure out that the woman was him. 'Oh, fuck, don't stop.' "Meka?" 'Who else is sharing your body? Now keep going, damn it!' Feeling a little guilty, at getting caught masturbating in her body, John started to pull his fingers out. 'Don't you dare leave us like this!' Meka thought at him and suddenly his body felt like it was on fire with carnal need. Gasping John drove his fingers back into his pussy curling them at just the right angle to find the bundle of nerves up and behind his clit. "Ohhhh... goooooooddddddd" he gasped. His body felt like it was on auto pilot. Stroke, curl, stroke, rub... he alternated between rubbing his clit, driving his fingers into an empty ache and curling them up to stroke his g-spot. The most powerful orgasm John could remember washed over his body and his weakened knees gave out and he slid to the floor of the shower. "Oh, damn. Meka if it feels that good to rub one out, how do you leave the house?" 'Idiot. It never feels THAT good. I-I didn't want you to stop, so I focused on what my body feels like at the height of pleasure, and it was like... I've never felt anything that good.' After several deep breaths John climbed shakily to his feet. He ran his fingers through the tangled mass of hair. "Uhm, whatever happens in the future, we're never telling Elaine about this." 'Agreed!' "Okay show me how to get the tangles out?" 'Sure, you've already used shampoo so next is conditioner.' "Hey, how do you know that? When did you wake up?" 'Just after you tried to burn our breasts off with scalding hot water.' "Why didn't you say something?" 'It seemed like you were having fun and I didn't want to ruin it for you. I would have pretended to still be asleep except you were going to stop just as it was getting good.' Once done with the conditioner John discovered it was much easier to run his fingers through Meka's hair. Getting out of the shower John wrapped a towel around his waist and went to the mirror looking for a brush. 'Uhm, John, normally girls wrap the towel around their chests and under their arms.' "Oh, yeah, right." He adjusted the towel and then finding a brush went to the bedroom to work on his hair. As he settled onto the bed there was a knock on the door. John opened it a crack and saw a woman he didn't recognize. "Yes?" he asked. 'Her name is Tracy.' Meka supplied. "Tracy, can I help you?" "Hi, Meka, I don't know why, but Mistress Gwendolyn asked me to give these to you. She said you'd understand." With that the maid offered a pile of what were obviously men's clothes. "Sure, thanks." John opened the door the rest of the way and accepted the clothes. Once alone he looked down at the pile. "Why do you think she gave us men's clothes instead of a woman's?" 'Probably because Meka is wanted for blowing up a building. She wants us in "John" mode while we're here...' "But I'm John. When we're male we're Meka." 'Come on John, time to get dressed and find out what's happened since we crashed.' "Fine." John went to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, "I think I want to watch this time." Then he thought, 'Okay, we're all yours.' and pulled back releasing control. At once he felt Meka move forward. He watched as his skin seemed to ripple, shoulders growing wider, long hair pulling up and getting lighter while hair sprouted from his arms, legs, and chest. Then his face seemed to shift his cute elfin chin turned square and a day's worth of stubble sprouted from his no longer soft cheeks. His boobs stretch as his chest and shoulders continued to expand turning into a set of well-formed pecs and his nipples got smaller and smaller until they were dimes instead of silver dollars. As this was happening he grew six inches and felt a heavy weight drop down between his legs. The familiar sensation of his cock and balls swinging freely between his thighs signaled the end of the changes. "Damn, all of that in like two seconds." Meka noted running her large masculine hands over her washboard abs and down to the sausage between her legs. "Welcome back boys. I'm sure we'll have fun a little later." 'What?' "Hey, don't go all prudish on me. After what you did in the shower, you owe me. I'll just take it as a rain check." With growing familiarity Meka climbed into the clothes Gwendolyn had picked out. Grey dress slacks, leather belt, a light blue dress shirt, leather dress shoes and a matching suit jacket. When Meka saw the tie she just shook her head and folded it up and tucked it into a pocket. "Well, what do you think?" Meka stood in front of the mirror and John had to admit that the clothes gave him a look of sophistication he normally didn't go for. 'I think Gwendolyn has expensive tastes.' "True, she does know fashion." Twenty minutes later they found Gwendolyn and Victor in the garden taking a late lunch on the open air patio. Meka's stomach rumbled as she walked up to the pair. "Hi, I don't suppose a girl could get some lunch?" "You don't look like a girl, at the moment, Meka. Please sit down." Gwendolyn said, with a laugh. Meka joined in with a chuckle. "How did the magical conference calls go?" Victor grunted and bit into an apple slice. "Not well. Most didn't want to believe that the Syndicate would go this far. I had to show them the attack on my estate and then remind them of Cancun." "It's one thing to do a large area attack on the Society, even to bring Fae to our Realm. It is an entirely different matter to bring Insectoids to this Realm. We sent a local witch to Victor's estate only to find they've established a nest. Our scout almost died." Gwendolyn added. "The local authorities in Louisville will come out to the estate at some point and they'll be slaughtered. There is no going back from this one." "How will you let the mundanes know?" Meka asked, looking at Victor. "As we speak members of the Society within every industrial government are revealing themselves to the mundane leaders. Once ready, hopefully within the next few days', public announcements will be made. Then we'll move openly on the nest in Louisville." Gwendolyn answered. "Any idea where Max is in my body?" "No." Then with an intent look Gwen added, "There is something we need you to do. In Alaska, there is a witch, a powerful Seer, who has been invaluable fighting the Syndicate." 'Cassandra!?' John gasped. Not hearing John's mental exclamation Gwen continued, "Cassandra has helped us foil Jason Drake and his mother Tia Drake's plots for years. Recently we've lost all communication with her. We need you to go there and find out why." 'Who's Cassandra?' Meka asked John silently. 'Only the most powerful living Seer. She's very reclusive and rumor has it cursed, although, no one knows what that means. She also doesn't appear to like men. Or at least that's what I've heard, she's had a couple of apprentices all female and her lands are warded against men.' Meka shook her head. "I'm sorry to hear that something might have happened to this woman, but I have to find Max and get my body back." "Meka!" Victor said, sharply, "This is bigger than your personal wants or needs. She is one of the greatest Seers of our time and only another Seer may enter her lands uninvited." "Not just Seers, Victor, female Seers." Gwendolyn interrupted. "Her curse prevents her from wanting any contact with most of humanity. To set foot on her land you must be both a Seer and a woman. That combination is so rare that very few of the gifted visit her uninvited." "Well, I'm not a Seer either." Meka retorted hotly. "No, but John is." Gwendolyn replied with a wide smile, "And currently he is the female." Meka's shoulders slumped. "I understand. I just... I feel like Max's out there, in my body doing horrible things and everyone thinks it's me!" "Meka, we'll do everything we can to find Max and capture him." Victor assured, in an earnest tone. "And I'll look into a way restore you." Then looking thoughtful, "It might mean dividing the crystal again." *** Ben opened the door as the bell rang a second time. "Yes, can I help you?" The tiny brunette with red highlights looked up at him. "Are you Benjamin Lavin?" "Who are you? Do you realize it's two in the morning? I've got to be to work in a few hours." As Ben tried to clear the fog of sleep from his mind he realized this woman looked familiar and that she was a witch. With one hand the witch reached in to touch Ben's wrist. "You are Benjamin Lavin, John Bedford's partner, aren't you?" "Yes," then Ben realized why she looked familiar, "you're John's friend, Meka. What brings you here, at this time of night?" "Do you think I'm pretty?" The comment caught Ben by surprise and suddenly he couldn't look away. The woman's eye seemed like bottomless pools of blue and then blood rushed to his cock and he gasped at the raging hard on between his legs. "I've just started studying Tantric magic and I really need your help Ben. Do you think you could help me?" Ben felt a swelling of pride that matched the growth of his cock. Meka Petrucci, the woman who'd destroyed a horde of zombies, killed a Nazi Necromancer, and discovered a hundred new ways to use magic wanted him to help her! Ben opened the door wide dropping the house wards, "Sure, anything for a friend of John's. What do you need?" "For starters? Your cock in my hot little pussy." Max purred stepping into the house. "Then the keys to the St. Louis Great Coven's vault. There is an artifact there that Lord Drake desires." Ben stumbled back his eyes glassing over, "Y-You want to have sex?" "Oh, yes... for starters." Max moaned closing the door and feeling the wards reset. "I'm going to ride your cock and milk every drop of cum from your body. Then I'll rip the memories I need from your mind, drain your life force, and leave your empty husk here on the floor." Max whispered, "Doesn't that sound like fun?" "Fuck, yes." Ben fumbled out of his pajamas. With his more than eager cock in hand he looked up as Max slowly, sexily, slipped out of the leather jacket, jeans, and t-shirt she'd been wearing. With a tiny hand Max reached out to stroke Ben's man-meat. "Such a pretty little pecker, I'm going to enjoy this." *** It took two different gates before Meka and John stepped out of the traveling room at the Anchorage Alaska Great Coven Hall. From Gwendolyn's traveling room, they'd gone to the Great Coven Traveling room in New York. This Traveling room held no fewer than forty-nine gates. From there Anchorage had been a step away. Before they'd left London, Gwendolyn had insisted on packing a backpack Meka could carry on her broad shoulders. It held sets of clothes for both John and Meka so they wouldn't be forced to wear ill-fitting clothes if, and when, they transformed. She'd also, at John's request, furnished them with weapons. John had been surprised when Gwendolyn had produced a SIG Sauer P229 the.40 felt comfortable to John as Meka held it using his large hands. "I'm not really a very good shot." Meka noted. 'If we need to use it we can shift.' "These will come in handy." Meka lifted one of the three crystals Gwendolyn had given them. Each was a special purpose crystal. They couldn't be used as a focus item and had a single spell locked inside. The beauty of these was that it took almost no magic to activate, provided the person holding the crystal knew the key. The first crystal held a powerful veil. Gwendolyn explained that it was much better than anything Meka had ever produced. The second held a body shield. When they activated it, the shield would protect them from all magical and physical threats until it ran out of power. The duration, of course, would be determined by the power of the attacks it was blocking. The last crystal held a potent healing spell. It was battlefield magic designed to bring a person back form the edge of death to full health in under a minute. The three crystals were expensive to make and time consuming to enchant. Both Meka and John knew the value of the gifts. Moving out of the traveling room Meka spotted what must have amounted to a reception area. Directly across from the door was a desk with a woman bent over writing something that Meka couldn't see. The very shapely bottom of the receptionist was prominently displayed and Meka felt a rush of blood to the tube-steak between her legs. It was 5 pm in the UK but only just 8 am here. By the look of things, the receptionist had just arrived and was still setting up for the day. Meka cleared her throat with a deep masculine cough and the woman jumped and gave up a little screech as she spun around. "Oh, I didn't know anyone was scheduled to come in this early." "This was an emergency." Meka eyed the pretty brunette lasciviously. "I've been sent on Great Coven business. I'm a Guardian, my name is John Bedford." Meka felt strange using John's name. "Okay, hi, my name's" "Sandy, yes I can see that." Meka interrupted stepping into Sandy's personal space and reaching out she tapped the name tag attached to Sandy's blouse. Sandy flushed and took a half step back, "Oh, uhm, okay." 'Stop staring at her tits.' John chided. 'Most women think that's creepy. Besides, we're here on business. We need to rent a plane to take us up to Cassandra's. With a start Meka realized she'd been looking at Sandy's boobs and felt her face flush. 'Stupid, man body.' She thought at John before turning to Sandy. "I'm sorry. I think I'm a little jet lagged. Hehehe... Sotta speak. I didn't mean to seem creepy." "Oh, you're fine." Sandy, now clutching her necklace, replied. At the end was a crystal the size of a golf ball and Meka was sure it was her focus item. "Do you need a rental car?" "Actually a lift to the airport. I need to rent a boat plane to take me up to Lake Klutina." "This time of year that shouldn't be a problem. Are you going fishing... wait you said Great Coven business? The only thing up there is the Seer." Then Sandy shook her head, you do know she doesn't like visitors, or men?" "Look, Sandy, the less you know the better. Can you either get me a taxi or do I need to rent a car?" "No, for the airport, we've got a shuttle service. Go on through those doors and then down the stairs to your right. There's a lobby and the guy working the desk, Greg, he'll make sure you get to the airport." *** It took longer than Meka wanted but at last they were soaring over the Alaskan wilderness headed east. The man at the controls looked old enough to be her grandfather but he seemed to know what he was doing as the tiny plane flew between a pair of mountain peaks. "There's a pier at the southern end of the lake and a set of cabins. I assume you've rented one and that's where you want to be dropped off?" The crackle of his voice in her headset was difficult to understand and it took Meka a moment to figure his question out. Pressing the mic button, she spoke into the boom mic on the head set. "No, take me to the north end. If you can run up onto the bank, great! If you can't I'll wade ashore." The pilot gave her an odd look. Like he was used to crazy rich people getting dropped off in the wild, but this guy didn't look rich or crazy. "What're you going to do up there? Are you meeting someone? Do you need me to come back and get you in a few days?" "Yes, and I don't know yet. It'll depend on the lady I'm meeting." Meka gave the guy a conspiratorial wink. "Ah, okay, will good luck with that, buddy." The approach to the lake left Meka's stomach in knots. Everything had been smooth sailing and then the pilot pushed the nose over and suddenly they were bouncing around. "The wind off these mountains can be a bit turbulent." He commented dryly. As the fir trees got bigger Meka spotted the clear blue water and then the air seemed to smooth out. The little plane skimmed over the surface of the glass like water finally settling smoothly into it. "How about we beach it over there?" Jack, the pilot, pointed at what looked like a soft sandy section of beach. "This water might not look it, but it's extremely cold I'd hate to make even a tough guy like you wade through it." Meka blinked for a second before she realized he was talking about her. 'Hehehe, that's the first time I've ever been referred to as a "tough guy."' she thought to John. 'Well, don't get used to it. I plan to be back in my body soon.' 'Oh, pooh, don't be such a party pooper. I could act all swishy and feminine. Would that be better?' 'Don't you dare!' Just then there was a jolt as the plan's skis hit the shore. "Alright here you go. This is as far as I can take you." Meka climbed out of the cabin and slung her backpack over one shoulder. The battle-rod was strapped to one side within easy reach. The water here was only a couple of inches deep, yet she hurried ashore, since her water-resistant leather hiking boots would only stay dry for a few seconds. Once there she turned to wave at the pilot as he selected beta on the prop-pitch causing the aircraft to back away from the shore. Then in a display of bush-pilot skill he spun the little plane around and accelerated smoothly over the lake taking off in a few minutes. Once airborne he did a quick wing-wag to say goodbye before turning toward Anchorage. 'Gwendolyn said we need to hike north from here. We should hit the southern edge of Cassandra's warded domain in a mile or two.' 'Then we probably need to change.' John thought. Meka released control and John pushed forward. The transformation by now was painless and it almost felt like a relief to not just be in control, but to be female. John pushed that thought down. He'd only been sharing a body with Meka for two days and already he was getting comfortable. John dropped the backpack to the gravely beach and pulled out the clothes that would fit Meka's body. Hiking boots, thick socks, panties, sports bra, jeans, and a soft flannel shirt. Feeling embarrassed to be changing outside, even if it was the wilderness and there wasn't another person for miles, John got dressed in a hurry. "I might be getting more comfortable in your body, but the way your underwear fits too damn snugly... I'll never get used to it." He said trying to pick at the thong riding up between his ass cheeks. "Why did Gwen pick out a thong?" 'Why didn't you look at what Gwendolyn packed? Hehehe, and I should hope not, or I'll be getting calls from Elaine wanting to know why you're trying on her panties, after we fix this.' "You're not helping!" With that John stuffed the male clothes into the backpack, pulled out the P229, and made sure it was loaded with a round in the chamber and slid it into the holster he'd already attached to the belt. 'Why are you going all cowboy-er-cowgirl? You don't think the Syndicate is going to attack us out here do you?' "No, I'm more worried about Bears." 'John, you are NOT going to shoot some poor bear. We've got magic. I can teach you a spell that will cause any animal within a hundred yards to fall asleep.' John swung the backpack up over his shoulders. Once on his back he adjusted the straps to make sure it was tight and comfortable. "Fine. Teach away. I'm still keeping the gun." Then he reached back to make sure he could draw the battle-rod before turning to face north. "Well, here we go!" Stepping into the heavily shaded pine forest John felt like he'd just stepped back in time. While by the lake he'd heard the buzz of insects, the soft call of the frogs, the chitter of squirrels and the distant cry of a lonely eagle. Now within the shade of the forest everything became quiet. As if the weight of the ages were carried by the bowed limbs of the fir trees. The bed of pine needles underfoot made each step a soft silent dance into the ancient past. John took a deep breath and the scent of the pine forest was overwhelmingly strong. There was a part of him that wanted to turn around and go back to the life filled lake to bask in the cold waters and enjoy the sounds of life. Another part, deeper, more primal wanted to dash into the deep forest strip away his clothes, the badges of civilization, and run naked through the trees. The urge to summon her power and bond with Mother Nature, to commune with her, and embrace all her ancient feminine glory, was surprisingly strong. Then he heard Meka giggling in the back of his mind, 'Seriously? Commune with Mother Nature? Did you drop acid when I wasn't paying attention?' John shook his head, feeling his hair whip around and his face flushed. It was like Meka had just dumped a bucket of ice water over his head and the fuzzy strange thoughts vanished. "I-I'm not sure what I was just thinking." He took a deep breath feeling the way his breasts pushed against the stretchy material of the sports bra. "If I start spacing out again, shout at me, please. This forest is enchanted!" After a few minutes of hiking John felt a soft buzzing ahead of him. "It feels like we're about to hit the wards." 'I can feel them. Be careful.' "Gwendolyn said they just cause anyone not meeting Cassandra's criteria to get confused, turned around, and end up back at the lake. We'll be fine, worst case." John said, trying to sound confident, yet knowing that Meka shared his thoughts and must be picking up on his apprehension. John pushed forward and the ground started to rise making the hiking more difficult. Then John crossed some invisible line and his whole body started to tingle. With each step the tingling got worse. It felt like a thousand tiny sparks were moving over his skin. With his next step they intensified around his breasts and pussy causing John to gasp and stumble. Another step. Then another. All at once the sparks faded. "Fuck, that was weird." John muttered and realized that his nipples were pushing out, hard, against his bra and that he could feel a slick moistness between his lower lips. "I-I think I'm turned on." 'Yeah, this is what it feels like, for a girl, when she's sexually excited.' Meka thought, sarcastically. 'Shut up.' John started walking again knowing that he had to be getting close. Once again, he felt like he crossed a line. Abruptly, his sixth sense seemed to expand, blowing up and filling his mind with information. He knew before he put his foot down, that there were several ants under the pine needles and he'd crush most of them. He adjusted his stride. Moving around a tree he knew that in the branches a nest of birds with 2 two chicks waited for their parents. A mosquito dove for his neck and John twitched his head so that a lock of hair brushed it aside. In the back of his mind he could hear a voice. A man's voice, calling... he ignored it. Continuing through the forest took all of his attention, if he was to avoid hurting anything, or being hurt. John was never sure how long he walked. It felt like hours, but Meka swore it was no more than thirty minutes. Abruptly, he stumbled into a clearing and saw a large cabin with two out buildings sitting on the bank of a small stream. As if stepping from a dream into wakefulness John stood still, blinking, and his sense of the world around him returned to normal and he found himself breathing hard, like he'd just ran a six-minute mile. 'JOHN... JONATHAN BEDFORD! CAN YOU HEAR ME!!!' Meka's mental shout snapped John back to the present. "Hey, there's no reason to shout." 'No reason to shout? I've been trying to get you to wake up, to respond, or whatever, for half an hour! What the hell happened to you?' "I'm not sure. It was like, I could see and feel everything around me. Like all of life, nature, had opened. Like my Seer talent was in overdrive. I knew before I lifted my foot where to put it to avoid taking a life. I knew how to walk through the forest, so that I didn't become confused and end up back at the lake, it all seemed too, obvious." 'Well, you were walking like a drunken person.' "I think it was the second test, to see if I had the gift of 'sight.'" John could feel Meka roll her mental eyes and sigh. He glanced around and spotted the cabin. "Do you think?" 'Of course! Who else would be out here in the middle of nowhere protected by those ridiculous wards?' *************************************** Chapter 9 *Meka and John* *************************************** The air above the Montrose estate in Louisville whirred with activity as Hornet Insectoids buzzed around the property. They were difficult to see as the air around them seemed to blur and distort, like a novice witch attempting her first veil. On the grounds below squads of Mantis-like Insectoids patrolled the perimeter, just inside were new sets of eerily glowing green wards. Closer to Victor's house other Insectoids were hard at work building up a layered dome of a paper-like material to go over the house. To one side a group of four beings watched the industry of the growing colony. Each was uniquely different from the others, looking more insect than human and all four were female. Abruptly, the female that looked like a giant hornet lifted her head looking to the sky. Then her body blurred and shifted. She straightened up and chitin turned to soft human looking skin. Insect like legs retracted into a now more human looking body. In a few seconds a naked, human, woman, four and a half feet tall, with long yellow and black hair stood facing a giant spider, ant, and mantis. Taking their cue from the hornet queen each female shifted into their human form. "What news from your daughters?" The spider-insectoid, with long black hair, asked. Her voice had a strange quality, one that was distinctly non-human. "The humans of this world approach. They come in transports, self- propelled metal carriages. I've ordered my daughters back, closer to the colony." The hornet queen's voice carried a buzzing quality and her human eyes looked multifaceted for a moment before returning to the human normal. "They would like to try their stings on those transports, but as discussed, there is much we must learn from the humans." The mantis-insectoid looked over at the ant-insectoid, her light green hair moving around her head. "Perhaps a few of my kind and yours would be best. If we wish to take them alive?" The ant queen shook her head. "Most of my daughters are working on the underground part of the colony and helping the hornets build the outer nest layer. We are not best suited for this work." The spider-insectoid smirked, "My kind will catch the humans." "Excellent, any word from our allies?" The mantis asked, looking at the spider queen. "They are employing agents to steal the key to the great gate. Once that is done the swarm shall enter this realm." And then looking toward the entrance to the estate she said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go see to the capture of our first humans. Perhaps we'll get lucky and find a few males." With that the insectoid shifted to full spider form and hurried forward in a series of enormous leaps. On her third jump she vanished from sight behind a flawless veil. *** The Knight-Lieutenant moved to stand next to Knight-Captain Esistiel Talvathar, and with a quick salute he made his report. "The troop is in position. We are standing by for the signal to begin the assault." Talvathar nodded, "The barrier between the Realms grows thin. I believe that with the Horn alone I can now open a way back to Winter. Lord Drake promised this would be so and he has kept his word." "And yet, I do not trust this human." Lieutenant Daugir Talvaul growled. "He holds Princess Laicistiel Aeradiir and has ransomed our allegiance to the Queen." "Peace, cousin. Our time will come, just see to it that you're ready to act when the time is right." Abruptly, a red-star cluster burst into the night and both Winter Aelves grinned. "That's it, the signal. Mount up!" Esistiel commanded. Putting her words to action Esistiel leapt into her saddle and lifted the silver horn from where it hung. Putting it to her mouth she blew a powerful blast and the temperature around them seemed to drop. A deeply chilled ground fog sprang up and rolled from between the trees. At a walk Esistiel led her warriors forward moving out from between the trees to look across the paved road at a tall building, shimmering slightly, behind a set of wards that Esistiel was sure most humans couldn't see. "CHARGE!" *** The new office building nestled behind a line of trees on the corner of Clayton Ave and Faulkner Dr. sat at the edge of the Highland Golf and Tennis center and was the home of the St. Louis Great Coven. The purchase of the property on the edge the Golf course and so close to Forrest Park had been something of a scandal in the St. Louis business community. But when you're a secret organization with access to magic and tremendous wealth getting your way is something you're used too. Max looked at the building from the parking lot of the James S. McDonnell Planetarium. Using a set of binoculars, she studied the building. It was just after midnight and the most Coven employees had left several hours ago, except for security. Max sat back on the Harley Iron 883 and waited. She knew it was almost time. Waiting was something that Max didn't enjoy, but had become accustomed to many years ago when she'd been male and had learned the assassin's craft. Thinking back to the night before Max ran her soft tongue over her darkly painted lips. The pale makeup with dark lipstick and black mascara felt more like a form of urban camouflage than some feminine device to attract male attention. Not that Max needed much help attracting male attention with her petite feminine body squeezed into tight leather pants, leather and steel bustier, and a black studded leather jacket and heavy biker boots. The look screamed sexy femme fatale and when Max had checked herself out in the mirror before leaving Ben's place she'd been pleased. Even the eye patch added to the roguish look. The thought of the young guardian warlock, a lifeless husk with a large stupid grin on his face sent a thrill through Max. Everything about his corpse had gone soft and cold as she'd drained his life, everything except the enormous cock Max had been riding. Even after he'd died his dick had remained hard. Eli had explained this was one of the telltale signs that Tantric magic had been used to steal a life. Eli had taken a great deal of time, over the last two days, teaching Max the basics of the black form of Tantric magic. Ben had been the first man Max had used her new skills on. Even now she could feel the buzzing of Ben's life energy humming just below her womb in her manna- well. She could also feel the tiny knot of knowledge she'd ripped from Ben as he'd been in the throes of ecstasy. Max pulled up that knowledge and feeling satisfied reached into the saddle bag attached to the motorcycle and drew out a signal flare. The time for stealth was over. Soon all of humanity would know that magic existed and that humans weren't alone in the universe. The flare rocketed up 200' and then burst into a red-star cluster but Max didn't bother to look. She tossed aside the launcher started the bike and smoked the back tire as she raced toward the Great Coven headquarters. Entering the Coven parking lot Max touched the hilt of the Kopis she'd strapped to the outside of her right boot. The crystal in it glowed and for a brief second Max felt again the disappointment at her failed attempt to bond Ben's crystal. Eli had explained that normally a Witch or Warlock could only bond to one crystal. There were a few exceptions to this rule. The most common was that the parents of a witch might will their crystal's bond to their child on their death bed. There were also dark spells that would allow a bond to be forcibly transferred but most of those were outlawed. Not that Eli cared about that, but the spells to transfer a bond by force were complex and, according to Eli, beyond Max's current skills. Max gritted her teeth, at this thought. After Ben's death Max had spent over an hour trying to figure out how to take Ben's crystal and had finally given up. 'I may not have his crystal, but I have what I need tonight.' Max thought as she brought her bike to a skidding stop in front of the Great Coven building. Max lifted a gloved hand and traced a symbol in the air and pulling magic through the crystal attached to the Kopis spoke the Key that dropped the wards protecting the building. Almost at once the front doors flew open and a pair of armed security guards rushed out. Both men appeared to be overweight and neither looked ready to fight. Instead, they looked more curious about the slim, leather clad, biker-girl who'd parked on the sidewalk in front of the Great Coven. "Miss, you can't park that here. The building is closed, if this is coven business you need to come back tomorrow at 9 am." The first guard said. Then the second added, "And who gave you the Ward-Key? That's need-to-know information only." With that the second guard dropped a hand to the holstered sidearm on his right hip. Max turned slightly giving both guards an enhanced view of the shape of her bust, while shielding her left hand from the guards' sight. With her right hand, she covered the crystal that was glowing a malevolent ruby and smiled at the guards. "No one gave it to me. I used tantric magic to rip it from Special Agent Ben Lavin's brain." For a moment both guards seemed too stunned to know what to do, and that's when Max moved. Her right hand came up and she spoke the power word for fire. Twin jets of flame shot from the palm of her hand toward the guards. Each had a personal shield which flared blocking the attack but both staggered back stunned by the speed and brutality of the assault. Max swung her left leg over the bike and drew her semi-auto from the holster on her left hip as she moved. Now using two hands she started shooting. Max focused on the second guard first, since he appeared to be the smarter of the two. Her first couple of shots was deflected by the man's shield and he fumbled to draw his weapon. By the time it cleared the holster Max's third round smashed through his shield breaking it. Her fourth and fifth rounds took him in the head and chest sending him tumbling over backwards. Max staggered back as the first guard had finally pulled his crystal up out of his cargo pocket and had unleashed a Force strike on Max. Max's body shield had absorbed the blow, a strike that would have sent a four-thousand-pound car tumbling. Angry now, Max drew and threw her Kopis in a smooth underhand motion with her right hand, while holding the pistol in her left. The blade tumbled twice before its edge bit into the guard's shield slicing through it and cutting deeply into his shoulder. "Aaghhh..." The guard dropped his crystal and spun around under the force of the blow. "Return." Max said, and the short sword ripped itself free of the guard and flew back to Max's hand. Max took her time moving forward while the guard writhed on the ground almost delirious with pain. Max put one platform-boot on the guard's chest and emptied the rest of the mag into him. The thunder of hooves caused Max to look up. Winter Aelves were arriving from all directions. With the wards down the Fae would make quick work of the doors. From what Max had learned there were probably a half dozen guards in the building, not including the two Max had just killed. It was the Fae's job to hunt and kill them. Max hurried forward, her job was to break open the inner vault and find the Key to the Great Gate. Lord Drake and his mother Tia had made it perfectly clear to Max. She'd either succeed tonight with this task or she'd be dead. With her new body, powers, and the skills she was learning, Max had no intention of dying. *** Walking up to the cabin felt surreal. John kept looking for signs of life. Smoke from the chimney, laundry on the clothes line, or the sound of laughter... anything that might indicate someone was living here. The quiet felt eerily wrong. John stepped up onto the porch and pounded his tiny fist against the wood. The sound echoed from within and after trying a second-time John checked the latch. The door opened easily and he stepped into the cabin. The room beyond the door served as some kind of sitting room. Looking around John could tell it was a much-used space with a hard wood floor, log walls, and a great unmatched stone fireplace. Stepping into the room John ran his dainty fingers over the back of a rocking chair with a half- completed quilt draped over one arm. The chair faced the fireplace giving John the impression that whoever owned this place liked to sit in front of the fire and work on the quilt. To one side was a small two-person love seat that looked comfortable enough to curl up on and take a nap. Drawn to the fireplace John made sure not to track dirt on the handmade rug stretched out before it. Dropping to one knee, John peered into the fireplace taking a closer look. "There was a fire here, but it burnt itself out and no one cleaned up the ashes." He shifted around partly burnt logs with one of the long iron fireplace pokers. "Like someone set it, started it, and then left." 'I didn't know you knew so much about fires?' "I was a boy scout, and then an infantry soldier for eight years. I've seen a campfire or two." John leaned in closer looking at the back of the fireplace, "It looks like this opens up to heat this room and a room behind it." Standing up John returned the tool to the stand next to the fireplace and spotted a doorway to the right. The doorway led to a short hallway and then the room behind the fireplace. The room turned out to be the kitchen and along the opposite wall John spotted a staircase. The kitchen was rustic and right out of Southern Living. Moving over the hardwood floor around the backside of the unmatched stone fireplace, John checked out the iron pot-belly stove-oven. It was cold with nothing in it. The oak counter top and a deep sink with an iron hand pump, looked like something from the eighteen hundreds, and unable to resist John tried the pump. It took a couple of tries but soon cool clean water came pouring out. To the left stood a pair of handcrafted cabinets and opening one John discovered that it was filled with canned fruit and vegetables. "Why do I feel like the Seer is still living in the 1950s?" 'Because there isn't any sign of electricity?' Then John saw the one thing that seemed out of place. The modern looking refrigerator. The odd thing about it was the ruins painted on the front and the crystal set into the door. When he opened it a crystal inside lit up and John saw that it was full of normal looking items, milk, soda, vegetables, eggs, fruit, yogurt, leftovers in modern-looking Tupperware... and John noticed the inside was cold. "She used magic to keep this cold?" 'Looks like. I've never seen those spells, but it looks like she charged the crystals and they keep the inside cold. She probably has to recharge them once a month.' John nodded, "Very clever." He turned around and moved to the heavy oak table that took up most of the middle of the kitchen. He picked up an all metal cup and examined it. The dried remains of what smelled like coffee covered the bottom of the cup in a dark crust. Setting it down John picked up a fork noting the remains of something that vaguely looked like eggs still clung to it. Then he ran a small feminine finger through the thick layer of dust on the table and returned the spoon. "It's like someone was eating, got interrupted, and then never returned." 'I don't think anyone's been here for a while.' Turning around John moved to the stairs, "Let's have a look upstairs." The search turned up a pair of bedrooms, both neatly made, but nothing interesting. It was obvious that no one had been here in weeks and that the woman who lived here had left, suddenly. Returning to the kitchen John saw that it had a back door and once through spotted the two out-buildings behind the cabin. "I think that must be a chicken coup." John pointed at the long low building. Then he looked at the second building. "Looks like a small barn, maybe a tool barn?" 'Why would Cassandra need a tool barn? I don't see any fields. Just a poorly tended vegetable garden.' John started walking toward the mystery building. "One way to find out." As they approached John felt a shifting tingle run over his skin. 'What was that? Another ward?' "It felt kinda like when I shake hands with another gifted. Only I don't see anyone." 'Just be careful.' John pulled the backpack off his back and sat it down drawing out the battle rod with his crystal attached to one end. Then after a moment pulled out the semi-auto and tucked it into his waist band. "Just want to make sure that I'm ready for anything." He muttered. Then John grabbed the barn door and gave the handle a pull. After a slight resistance, the heavy door groaned and opened, as if reluctant to reveal the contents of the barn. The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the open door and when he stepped in he saw his new feminine shadow dance in front of him. He paused to look around, the shadows within the barn held a deeper darkness and he blinked several times unable to see anything beyond a few feet. 'Come-on, let's make some light.' "I'm on it." John replied lifting the the rod, "Lux!" Instantly, John's signature blue-white light blazed up from the crystal pushing the shadows back and John jumped in surprise. "Cassandra?" For a moment, no one moved then John heard Meka sigh within his mind. 'Take a closer look. I think she's been petrified.' John stepped into the barn and examined the stone statue. The figure of a woman wearing a loose-fitting robe and sandals remained utterly still. John reached out and touched the robe, "The magic may have turned her body to stone, but it didn't touch what she was wearing." Slowly, John walked around the statue noting that she was slightly taller than he was, at the moment, and that it was difficult to figure out how old she was with her marble skin. 'John, STOP!' At the mental shout John froze. 'Look down.' For the first-time John noticed that the concrete floor of the barn had been modified. Lifting his battle rod John caused the light to brighten. "Wow, this barn, the whole thing, it was her sanctum." Under the blue-white light John saw a chamber that had been designed for magic. From the shelves filled with books, magical tools, and artifacts, to the workbenches with beakers, phials, and pots. At the far end of the barn John saw an area set up with deep rugs, a fireplace, and a pair of comfortable chairs, obviously used for reading. The barn screamed sanctum. 'Look at the floor.' John did and realized he was standing in a pentagram cut into the concrete and right next to his foot he saw an all-black stone the size of a golf ball. "What is it?" 'Don't touch it!' Meka's warning stopped John as he'd already started to bend over. "Why?" 'Because, unless I'm wrong, I think that stone was the attack vector. Whatever it is, does, or did... I think it was responsible for what happened to Cassandra.' John took several steps backward until he was out of the circle and considered the scene. The woman was standing facing it, her back slightly bent, one hand still extended toward it, as though she were in the act of straightening up when the spell hit her. "I think you're right." 'Try using Witch-sight.' Feeling a little irritated at Meka's natural tendency to take charge John closed his eyes and reached inside. Every "awakened" witch or warlock has the ability, inherent within them, to view the world as it exists in magic. There were plenty of theories about Witch-sight. Some argued that it was the "True" sight. Others that it was nothing more than an ability to view magic as it existed in its true form. Using Witch-sight to view a crime scene involving magic was a standard practice taught to the Guardians. Finding the knot of energy just behind and between his eyes John pushed the energy forward until he could feel his eyes tingle and then he opened them. As soon as he did he gasped. The room was awash with color. Objects glowed with magical energy but even more stunning was the current of energy under John's feet. It made him want to hot-step to the chair at the other end of the room and climb up. The ley-line that ran under the barn was one of the strongest he'd ever seen! "Oh, wow, no wonder she likes this place." 'Yeah, with that much magic available, I doubt I'd need a focus to cast most spells.' Then John felt Meka's attention shift, 'John there's something odd about that line.' John could feel Meka thinking. 'Why didn't we feel it when we got here? Now that we know it's there, we can feel it. It's almost like Cassandra somehow warded it so visitors wouldn't notice.' "Maybe she liked her privacy?" John looked down to investigate the stone at Cassandra's feet. 'Likes her privacy? John this is magic I've never heard of, and very powerful. Cassandra is more than just a Seer. She's a powerful witch. That's Elder level magic!' There was a very faint purple-red sort of glow to the stone and John cautiously moved forward. "I think the energy that powered the spell was stored in that thing and is mostly used up." 'You're probably right. Still, don't touch it. Just get close enough for me to look at it.' John stopped just short of the stone and then squatted down looking intently at it. The glow seemed to shift and instead of just seeing the glow it looked like it was covered in threads of multi-colored light that wove over the surface of the stone and through it. The threads created a matrix of woven light. "Wow, what just happened?" 'I just cast a spell that lets me see the patterns of magic. Why? What do you see?' "I don't know any spells to assist in magical research, but suddenly what I was looking at changed." 'That's interesting. I figured out while we were in the woods that I could pull magic into me from our crystal and that I could still cast minor-spells. Now with that ley-line I don't even have to use the crystal. I had no idea that the spell would affect us both.' "What do you think it means?" 'That we're joined more deeply than I'd thought at first. Other than that, I've got no idea. Now, be quiet I need to focus.' John could feel Meka studying the stone and tried to be still, but he had no idea what he was looking at and quickly got bored. After several minutes, he couldn't take it anymore, "What are you thinking?" 'That it's time for me to take control of our body. I need to fully investigate this and doing it as a passenger isn't working.' "What about the warning that Cassandra only accepts female guests?" 'I think we're through the wards and that if we can rescue her she won't mind. Now give me control.' "Fine. But we're changing clothes first." With that John went out and grabbed the backpack from where he'd left it. Seeing that no one was around he stripped out of his clothes. The feeling of cool air on his sensitive skin caused his flesh to prickle up and he shivered. 'Come on, I can get dressed. Give me control.' John straightened up and relaxed moving mentally back allowing Meka to surge forward. His whole body shivered and shifted and then Meka stretched. Gone was the sensation of breasts moving on his chest, instead John felt his back pop and the heavy swing of his flaccid cock between his legs. "I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the way your schlong feels when it's just hanging there like that." 'Well, if things go according to plan we'll have you back in your body soon.' "One can hope." Meka reached into the backpack and started pulling out men's clothes. "You know, I was due to start next week." 'Start what?' "HA! Start, as in, my time of the month, the curse, my visitor, my period, you dork. I was just wondering if you'd end up having it for me." 'What?! Look I'm NOT having your period. We need to finish up here, get back to Louisville and report in to Victor on what we've found.' "Hehehehe... settle down. You sound like a little girl. It's just a little blood, you get used to it." 'God, I hope not!' Meka finished dressing and stuffed John's feminine clothes into the backpack before returning to the barn. "Hhmmmm," Lifting a hand Meka said, "Lumi?re." This time a crystal set in the ceiling flared to life bathing the whole barn in Meka's signature purple-white light. "That's better." Then added, "Hey, look over there!" Against the far wall Meka spotted a pair of arches on elevated pedestals. 'They look like traveling gates.' "Mhmm, that explains how she was able to live here without any means of travel." 'I don't know. It wouldn't surprise me if we find a generator and a short-wave radio. That way she could call and arrange for someone to fly out from Anchorage and help her from time to time.' "Maybe." Meka sounded skeptical. Then she turned to the statue of Cassandra and the mystery of the stone at her feet. Meka moved closer and started casting spells and once again John felt his vision shift to a different type of sight that let him see the threads and patterns of magic. Only this time Meka kept on casting. John couldn't tell exactly what she was doing but several times his vision seemed to tilt and shift, the image of the stone zoomed in and then spun around as Meka examined it from all sides. He felt his nose tingle and realized that each color of magic, within the thread matrix, had an odor. Meka was now using her nose to examine the puzzle as well as her eyes. 'What are you doing?' "Working... now, shush." After a while John got bored, he couldn't tell what Meka was up to and asking her questions while she was trying to concentrate just annoyed her. Instead, John focused on trying to use his connection to the crystal to draw in magic. To his surprise, magic flowed freely into him. Not as strongly as when he was in control of their body but enough to allow him to cast a spell or two. Except that most of the magic he knew was for combat or for tracking down a rogue witch, warlock, sorcerer, or wizard. Then he felt something buzzing in the back of his mind. When he focused on it he realized it was the ley line. Opening himself to it he felt magic rush into his body only the magic had an interesting flavor, like strawberries and cream. Then his vision expanded and the world in front of him faded away. *** Everything was dark. A silvery light blossomed and John saw what must be a door had opened and a full moon poured its light into the room. A shadowy figure walked in, partly blocking the light, "Loinnir," a woman's voice rang out with a musical quality and an Irish accent. Over head the crystal came alive with an emerald-sliver glow. The overhead light dispelling the shadows and John saw that this woman must be Cassandra. Her long hair cascaded in a waterfall of auburn locks over her flowing green robe, the exact same robe the statue wore. John couldn't tell how old she was since she had an ageless beauty. She could have been thirty or a hundred for all he could tell. When she entered the barn the door closed behind her shutting out the moon light. She moved to the middle of the barn and reached into a pocket of her robe and pulled out a stone. The stone glowed with a soft green light and she sat it on the floor. "Now, what has my son sent me." Pulling out a small knife she brought it to her finger and stopped. Her posture changed and she peered around. At last her eyes seemed to settle on John. 'Who are you, lass?' John almost jumped when he realized that Cassandra could see him, and then felt startled yet again when he realized she saw him as Meka. 'I'm a friend. I was sent by Gwendolyn, whatever you do, don't activate that stone!' For several seconds Cassandra looked at John, waiting. Then she shook her head, 'It's obvious you're an untrained Seer. Don't worry, girl, in time you'll learn to project your thoughts. You may stay and watch, but after tonight I want you to find me. I live in Alaska, if you go to Anchorage and ask for Cassandra " Flannag?in, there will be people at the Coven who will help you find me. I would like to know who you are. I might even agree to train you. In this age, we have so few Seers.' Then Cassandra used the knife to prick a finger. A drop of blood welled up and she sat the knife on the work bench before moving into the circle and bending over she pressed her finger into the stone. At once the stone seemed to pulse shifting from green to an angry red color. As Cassandra straightened up the stone pulsed a second time and sent out a burst of malevolent energy. For a moment John was blinded and then he saw Cassandra, just as they'd found her, turned to stone. "Hehehehehe!" The sound of laughter caused John to look around and he spotted a young man standing to one side, just out of the circle. Laughing he strutted forward stopping directly in front of Cassandra. "It worked! Just as Lord Drake thought!" Then he spat into Cassandra's petrified face, "Didn't see this coming, did you, bitch? Tia said, that Seers have a blind spot when it comes blood kin. I told you back in 39' that I'd end you. I never dreamed it would take me this long. Hehehehehe. Too bad we didn't have a chance to talk, I'd have loved to explain that your precious son, Eli, died begging to be spared, in the body of an overweight, middle-aged, woman." For a moment, he continued to look at Cassandra and then he reached up to touch her face rubbing the spittle into her eyes. "You killed Deidrick and I killed your son. Most would say that the score is settled, I disagree. If you can hear me, in there, know this, when the war is over I'll be back. I'll free you, from your prison and see to a proper punishment." Then he turned around and moved to the chairs at the far end of the chamber. Sitting on a stand between the two chairs was a mirror, "Ah, the Mirror of Far-Seeing. It looks just like Mistress Tia said it would. Tia might not be in your class, Cassandra, as a Seer," The warlock said, looking back over his shoulder at Cassandra, "But this little artifact should help." 'Stop!' John shouted and flew at the warlock only to pass harmlessly through him. 'Fuck!' he raged. The thief moved to the gates and examined both before nodding. "St. Louis and London; Berlin would have been better, but London will do." Touching a crystal hanging from a chain around his neck he spoke a word of power and the symbol above the gate to the right flared with red energy. Then the woman wearing Eli's body looked over at Cassandra, "Until later, 'mother.'" Then he stepped through the gate and vanished. For several seconds John just stared at the gate and then the crystal overhead died and the vision faded. *** Once again John found himself in the barn only he was now a passenger in his body. While he'd been out Meka had moved to stand on the opposite side of the statue of Cassandra and the weird magic sight was gone. 'Hey, you'll never believe what just happened.' "You took a nap? I tried talking to you but you were out." 'I was? How long was I gone?' "I'm not sure. I mean I was focused on my examination of the crystal and the spell. I wanted to ask your opinion about what might have been used as the trigger, but you were gone." John felt puzzled, 'Wow, it only felt like a few minutes to me.' "Sleep can be that way. I've figured out that the stone contained a spell that was designed to turn any living mammal within its field, once activated, to stone. However, it was a trap, because the spell was disguised to look like a magic-jar spell." At John's silence Meka continued, "You know, a spell designed to fold space so that it could hold several objects in it that were larger than the space that the object occupies in our universe." 'Yeah, that makes no sense.' John could feel Meka roll her eyes. "It lets me take a bowling ball and by folding space, put it in my coin purse." "Oh, okay. How does that create a trap?" "I think Cassandra thought she'd gotten a gift from someone she trusted and was trying to open it and instead got hit with the petrify spell." Then Meka shook her head, "Now, if I only knew the Key to activating the spell I could start to figure out how to unravel it and restore her." 'It was blood.' "What? Blood? How can you be sure?" 'I wasn't asleep, I had a vision. I saw Cassandra activate the spell that turned her to stone. She used a small knife to cut her finger and the blood to activated the stone.' "Hmmmm... a blood lock? That means it was sealed by a blood relative and only another could unlock it." 'Do you think you can reverse it?' "Maybe." Meka moved over to where the chair was and sat down. "First let's talk to Gwendolyn." 'Before you call her, there's another thing. You weren't wrong about the magic jar spell. When she activated the stone, it set off two spells one after the other. The first turned Cassandra to stone. The second released a guy who'd been hidden within the stone. He called her, mom, and he took a mirror that had been sitting over there, called the Mirror of Far-Seeing or something like that... He used one of Cassandra's gates to travel to London and escape.' "Damn!" Meka said before lifting his cane, "Gwendolyn!" the crystal glowed with Meka's signature soft purple-white light. *************************************** Chapter 10 *Meka and John* *************************************** John stood in the cold stream and shivered. Normally cold didn't bother him much, but Meka didn't have as much mass so dealing with the cold water had him shaking. 'I told yo