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Mercy This is fan fiction of the Whateley Academy universe. I hope you like it. No one noticed the smaller boy with the thick glasses as he navigated the hallways of his high school. Which was exactly how he wanted it. Being invisible beat the alternative. His name was Matthew Marshall, and he had dealt with enough pain already, so he had no desire to add to it by getting attention. His first encounter with grief had been five years ago, when his mother died. The second encounter came when he realized that his father had killed her ... He fought back tears and tried to focus on getting to the next class. But he couldn't stop remembering what happened next. Objects in his room began to move on their own, and he suddenly could feel the thoughts and feelings of others. He eventually realized he was a mutant, but managed to hide that fact from his caregivers at the orphanage where he had been sent after his father's arrest. For a while, he wanted to use his powers to hurt those who had hurt him, to strike back at the world for all the pain he had suffered. But every time he got close to doing that, he felt like he could hear his mother telling him to refrain. To show mercy instead of vengeance. So now he mostly just used his ability to be unnoticed. That was getting harder, because he had recently began to feel ... strange. Pain in his hips, itching on his chest, and worse, a feeling in his stomach like someone was rearranging his internal organs. "You need to go see the nurse" his mother's voice told him. He resisted that, fearing the response he might receive. But today the pain was getting too much. Sweating, he fought to keep upright long enough to make it to the nurse's office before passing out ... When he awoke, he found himself in a hospital bed, with a woman standing near him. When she saw him open his eyes, she said, "Welcome back to the land of the living, dear." "What ... what happened to me?" he managed. "You nearly had a burnout. It sometimes happens to a mutant when they are adjusting to their powers." "Then ... you know what I am? What I can do?" "Not all of it. We did some tests, but there are some that are better done when the subject is awake." "Are you gonna ... experiment on me?" "No, dear. With your permission, we will help you learn what you can do, so you can control it. What you do after that will be your choice." "Who ... are you?" "You can call me Lady Astarte, or Mrs. Carson. I run a school that helps young mutants learn how to control their abilities. And I would like you to come there." The woman sighed, and then added, "But before you do that, you ... need to see what you look like now. You've ... changed. " "Do it, hon." "Mom?" "Sort of, hon. you made a copy of my mind with your abilities. But the important thing is I am here, and I will help you. But you need to see what has changed." He shakingly stood, and looked in the mirror that the woman had brought with her. The girl in the mirror was definitely cute. Not staggeringly beautiful, but very cute. An image came into his mind, of his mother as a teen. "Yes, dear. You look a lot like I did at your age." The only really odd thing (other than the fact she was his reflection) was she had wings. They did not appear to be made of feathers, but of energy. Fortunately, Mrs. Carson was fast enough that he didnt hit the ground when he collapsed ... ******* Chapter 2 Matthew sipped at the water the nurse had brought her, blushing as she did so. "I can't believe I fainted." "Well, you had a big enough shock." A nurse came into the room at that moment, and began to check Mathew for her vital signs. Once the nurse was done, a doctor came in, and said, "It looks like you are good to go, from a physical standpoint. But I want you to be careful for the next few weeks at least, and come in if you have any troubles. I am also concerned about your ability to handle the change you just went through. You are going to need to talk to someone, to help you ... adjust." Mrs. Carson said, "I will arrange that when we get to Whately. But for now, I would like to introduce you to my assistant, Talia Allan." She waved at the door, and in came a young woman dressed like a secretary, with a business skirt, blouse, and jacket in a light grey color. She was holding a bag of popcorn, and held it out to Matthew. "Want some? It's fresh from downstairs." Matthew shrugged, and took a handful. Mrs. Carson said, "Talia, I have to go back to the school. Will you help our new student get some clothes and something to eat before she has to go for powers training." "My pleasure. Umm ... what do I call you?" "I ... my name is Matthew." "You might wanna consider changing that, now that you are a girl. But for now, how about I call you Mattie." "I ... okay, I guess." "Well, Mattie. I brought with me a few things, just so you can go to the caf without having to do so in your hospital gown. You wanna try them on?" Matthew blushed as she realized how much of her was exposed in the hospital gown. "Not ... not girly stuff, I hope." "No way. You just changed, you need time to adjust before you try dresses and stuff. Here. I got a pair of jogging pants, a sweat top, and the most non frilly undies I could find. Your top presents a bit of a problem, though ..." "Why is that?" "Your wings. I brought some things, but it would help to know how much your wings fold up." Matthew concentrated, and her wings vanished. "Whoa, cool! They ... turned into a tattoo on your back!" "I ... just wanted them out of the way. I guess that means they aren't energy, like I thought." "I would guess they are magic. But they will find out when they test you." "I am kinda scared of being tested." "Don't blame you. But it's needed, and it's not that bad." "I guess ..." "Come on. Get dressed. You need some real food, and for a hospital, this place has a pretty good cafeteria." Talia handed Matthew the clothes, and then left the room. Matthew struggled into the underwear, then the jeans and the socks. He then looked at the bra. "It won't bite you, dear," He heard his mom in his head say. "Do I have to wear one?" "Trust me, dear. Its for the best." Matthew sighed, and then struggled into the bra. Once it was in place she slipped the sweattop on, pushed her feet into the shoes, and went to the door. Talia was waiting for her, and took her by the arm down to the elevator, and down to the cafeteria. Once they both had ordered and sat down, Talia began talking. Very soon, Matthew was talking too, and within a few minutes she felt like she and Talia had been friends forever. Then as Talia was telling her a funny story about a fairy girl who caused all kinds of trouble at the school, Matthew giggled. "Nice Giggle," Talia said. "I didn't ... I did, didn't I?" Talia nodded. "But ... boys don't giggle!" "And you are a girl, now, so you are allowed." "But I have only been a girl for less than a day, I shouldn't be girly, should I?" Talia shrugged. "Maybe your change changed your brain to be more feminine as it changed your body. Or maybe you always had a bit of a girl in you, waiting to come out." Matthew*s mother said "She might have a point, hon. You ... were not the most manly of boys. I caught you in my makeup or clothes more than once when you were little." "I ... don't remember that. I really did that?" "Yes, dear. You really did." "Hey, you okay?" Talia asked. "I was ... talking to my mom, in my head. She was saying I dressed up in her clothes as a little kid." "You have your mom in your head? Like an spirit?" "Not quite. Somehow I made a copy of her mind with my telepathy." "That has gotta be a little awkward." "I guess so. But at least she's helping me cope with all this stuff." At that moment, Mrs. Carson came into the cafeteria, and went up to Matthew. "Dear, I'm sorry, but I have bad news for you. Your father has been taken to the hospital. It's ... he is dying. And he wants to see you before he dies." ****** Chapter 3 Matt asked her mother, "Should I go, mom? I mean, he killed you!" "Yes. hon. You remember what I always told you about mercy?" "Show mercy so you will be shown mercy. Carrying a grudge only means you carry a weight." "Good girl." Matt said to Mrs. Carson, "Okay, I'll go see him." Mrs. Carson said "One thing before we go. I would like to avoid any issues with the MCO. Will you do the honors?" Talia nodded, and she shimmered. A moment later she was dressed as an MCO officer. "Cool power," Matt said. "Well, it's not like magic wings, but it comes in handy." "Let's go," Mrs. Carson said. "Yeah, come on, Mattie," Talia said. "Actually ... would you mind calling me ... Faith?" "Sure, but why that name?" "It was my mom's middle name." "I'm honored, hon," her mother said in her head. "Okay. We better go, Faith," Mrs. Carson said. The three of them left the hospital, and got into a cab. "It's a pity they didnt send him to the hospital I was in," Faith said. "Yours has a pediatric wing. Plus, they have a reputation of being very decent to mutant patients." "Did you arrange me going there? How did you know about me?" "Sort of. A student with the ability to dream of the future saw you. and some disaster that would happen if you weren't found and protected. That's why I want this visit to be as short as you can make it, so we can get you to Whately, where you will be safe." "Wow. What kind of disaster?" "That part wasn't clear, other than we should avoid it." "I wonder ... I had so many questions about what happened that day. My dad wasn't like the person who the police said he was." Talia asked, "You wanna talk about it. It might help you understand." "Well ... I got detention, so I was late coming home. When I got there, the place looked like a tornado hit it, and mom ... I held her as she died, which must have been when my abilities kicked in to save a copy of mom's mind." "Speaking of your mom, why don't you ask her what she remembers?" "What about it, mom. Can you shed any light on this?" "Your father was on medication to control his temper. I cant imagine why he would have stopped taking it, but what happened that day was what he had been like before the meds." "Mom said dad was on some kind of medication," Faith said to Talia and Mrs. Carson. Mrs. Carson said, "That fits with the police report I saw. They said he was a mutant, what they call a rager, on medication to keep him from getting dangerous." "Maybe dad can tell me why he stopped taking the meds.' "It's worth asking him," Talia said. The three of them fell silent. Once at the hospital, the three of them went to Faith's father's room, where a bored looking prison guard was at the door. Mrs. Carson said to the guard, "We have a visitor for your prisoner. here is the authorization." The guard looked at the paper Mrs. Carson handed him, and then stood aside. "Don't be long," he said. Mrs. Carson said, "Talia and I will wait out here.' Faith entered the room. The lights had been dimmed, and she heard her father's raspy breathing over the soft hum of machines. She carefully touched her father's arm, and said, "Dad?" "M ... Matt? is that you?" Her father whispered. "K.. kind of, Dad. I ... changed. I ... turned into a girl." Faith's father managed to open up his eyes, and look. "You ... you look like your mother." "I do." "What ... what do you call yourself now." "I chose the name Faith." "Good choice. Listen, I ... dont have a lot of time, I just wanted you to know I'm sorry." Faith found herself crying, and said, "Why dad? Why did you stop taking your meds?' "I ... I didn't. They said I did, but I always took my pills. I dont understand why they didn't work. Please believe me." Faith gently touched his mind with her power, and saw he was sincere. "I believe you dad." "Good. I didn't want to go with you hating me." "Dad ... I can save you, kinda. I did it with mom. I have a copy of her mind in my head." "I can't ask you to do that." "You're not asking, I'm offering. Let me save you." She reached to touch her father, but before she could, the door burst open, and Mrs. Carson came in. "Faith, I'm sorry, but we have to go, now." "Just a moment, please!" "I'm sorry, but something really bad is gonna happen if we don't get you safe. I've got a teleport set up in the hallway." She grabbed Faith by the arm, and pulled her out of the room. Talia was waiting by the teleport, waving. "Hurry!" she said. The three of them stepped into the port "window" and vanished. No sooner had the teleport vanished a shadow appeared in the hallway. It pooled like liquid, growing and taking shape. Finally the shadow looked like a large dog, with three heads. It sniffed the spot where the teleport had been, and growled in frustration .... To be continued ... Chapter 4 On the other side of the teleport, Faith looked back, and said, "I was so close. One more minute and I would have saved Dad's memories, like I did with Mom." "Actually, that might not have been smart, dear," Mrs. Carson said. "What do you mean?" "Having another person's mind and memories in your head could hurt you. And you already have your mother's memories, which means the risk would be even greater if you added your father's memories too. " "But he wasn't responsible! He'd been taking his meds, it wasn't his fault!" "I believe you. And I promise I will do all I can to clear his name. But I cant put your life in danger." Faith sighed. She could feel that Mrs. Carson was sincere, so she reluctantly let it go for now. Talia shimmered, and the next moment, she was wearing jeans and a t- shirt. "Come on," she said, taking Faith's hand, "I'll give you the tour while Mrs. C. gets your power testing set up." The tour staggered Faith. Not just the campus, or the powers displayed by the students, but because of the emotional pain some of the students had been through. There was a boy who had been a girl a few months ago, and was still struggling to adjust. There was a girl whose introduction to girlhood involved being raped by members of her own family. And perhaps most painful of all, there was a girl who had been held prisoner and forced to use her talents for a madman who succeeded in making the girl feel responsible for all of his crimes. Tears leaked out of Faith's eyes, and Talia noticed. "What's wrong?" Talia asked. "So much pain, so much sorrow ..," Faith managed. "Let's try something that might help. I want you to think about a brick wall," Talia said. "A ... brick wall?" "Just try. Picture it. A plain, red, brick wall." Faith tried, and the emotions flooding in from around her dimmed. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Did it work?" Talia asked. "Yeah, thanks. Where did you get that idea?' "An old movie I watched last week. But the important thing is that it worked." They continued the tour, but Faith was also busy thinking. She decided to not feel sorry for herself, as so many others had sorrow and pain as bad if not worse than hers. She silently vowed to be a force for healing, for comforting those with loss. "Good for you, honey," her mother whispered. The two girls finished the tour, and went to where Faith would have her powers tested. "Listen, Faith. I need to get to class. Will you be okay for a bit?" "Class? But I thought you were Mrs. Carson's assistant?" "That was just temporary. I'm a teenager, although I look a little older." "Will I see you again?" "Absolutely. I will be here after your tests are done, and you'll be rooming with me in Poe." "Cool!" Faith exclaimed. "Anyway, take care. I'll be back when you're done," Talia said, and took off. Faith sighed, and then entered the testing lab. ***** The next couple of hours were painful, embarrassing, and frustrating for Faith. They tested her and tested her, in ways she had never even dreamed existed, before finally signing off on her card. The worst frustrations had been about her mother's mind in her head, and her wings. They insisted that no matter how strong her telepathy, she couldn't have made a "back-up" of her mother's mind, and so insisted she was an Avatar. She wasn't sure they were right, but ultimately she let the argument go. The wings were even more frustrating. They did believe them to be magic, but of a kind they had never seen outside of obscure and ancient texts. They finally decided to just sign Faith up for some basic magic classes, just to be sure they covered the situation. But there had been one moment of satisfaction for her. She had finally come up with a code name, and she smiled as she looked at the card which had the name on one side. "Mercy." Meanwhile, just outside the campus, a shadow growled at a barrier only it could see ... To be continued ... Mercy Chapter 5 Once Faith got outside the testing building, she found Talia waiting for her. "All taken care of?" Talia asked. "Yeah, for now. I ... have a lot to learn, though." "Well, you are at a school. Come on, you must be hungry. Let's go eat." When they got to the cafeteria, Talia noticed a white-haired girl waving at them. "Oh, look!" she said to Faith, "I wanted you to introduce you to Arwen anyway." The two girls came over to the table, and Talia said, "Faith, this is Arwen. She was the one who had the vision of you being in trouble." Faith tentatively took the girl's hand. "I'm really glad to meet you. Forgive me for asking, but can you maybe tell me what it was you saw?" "Well, I saw you, and your change, and I saw two shadows coming for you. One was the slave of the other, but if they had found you, they would have ... absorbed you. Turned you into something like them. And everybody else would suffer." "Whoa. It must hard, having that kind of power." "Sometimes. But sometimes, I'm able to use my power to help, like I did for you. That makes it worthwhile." "Well, thank you for helping me." "I'm glad I could." Faith had other questions, but before she could ask, a student came up to her and said, "Excuse me, are you Faith?" You're wanted in the magic department." "I'll come with you," Talia said, and the two girls went to the magic building. They were met by a young woman who introduced herself as Erica-Jane. "What's this about?" Faith asked. "Come on in, I found some information you might want to hear," Erica- Jane said. The two girls followed her, and they made their way to a medium-sized office. "This is Mrs. Chulkris' office. She's dealing with some other students, but since I was the one to discover the info, she said I could share it with you." "How did you know about me?" Faith asked. "When you had your powers tested, a question was raised about your wings, and the kind of magic they are. So they asked me to look into it, since obscure stuff like that is my hobby." "So what did you find out?" "Well, apparently, a long time ago, there was this warrior race with wings, who fought against everybody, even the Old Gods. They managed to make a small kingdom, but soon started fighting each other. Their kingdom vanished, and they disappeared. And according to this old text I found, some came to Earth, disguised themselves as humans, took human spouses, and then they were gone." "And you think that's related to me why?" "Well, take a look at this picture next to the text." Faith looked at the picture. She could certainly see the resemblance, because even though the woman was both scary and beautiful, her wings looked exactly like Faith's own. "Whoa," Faith exclaimed. "Yeah. I thought you'd want to know." "Thanks. If you find anything else out, I'd appreciate hearing it." "No problem," Erica-Jane said. "Come on, Faith," Talia said, "We should go get to our beds. Tomorrow will be a busy day." "Okay," Faith said, and the two girls made their way back to Poe. Once in the dorm room they shared, Talia gave Faith a set of PJ's to wear. "I thought these might be easier for you than a nightie, at least till you get a chance to get used to the girl thing." "Thank you so much. Do you mind if I ask, why have you done so much for me? I mean, I'm grateful, but you didn't even know me." "Don't you know? I thought you were the mind reader." "I've been trying to keep out of people's heads. Everybody should have some privacy." "Good philosophy. As to why I wanted to help, let's just say that when I needed it, people helped me, so I wanted to pay it forward. Then I got to know you, and I like you." "Thank you. I like you too." "Glad to hear that. Now, you should wash up, change, and get some sleep." Faith made her way to the bathroom, and stopped to examine her reflection. "Was it only this morning that I saw that face in the mirror for the first time?" She wondered, "So much has happened today, I haven't had any chance to really think about being a girl." "I'm so sorry, sweetie" Her mother whispered. "It's okay, mom. I just hope things slow down a little so I can get used to it." "I hope so too, hon. But at least you've already made some friends here. That will help." Faith sighed, finished her business in the bathroom, and crawled into her new bed. The Nest was in flames, but the old woman ignored most of the screams as she flew toward her daughter's home. Smashing through the door, she grabbed the small girl who has crying beside the broken form of the old woman's daughter. "It's too late for us. But it's not too late for you," She said to the sobbing girl. "You must hide, survive, and never forget what brought us down. We forgot mercy." "Mercy is for the weak. Vengeance is what makes you strong," A shadow at the door said. The shadow reached for the little girl. "No matter where you hide I will find you. Then we will see if you're strong enough to be worthy to survive." Faith woke from the nightmare, and tried to calm her heart down. She finally managed to relax, and fell back asleep ... ***** Meanwhile ... A growling shadow outside the campus was joined by another shadow, this one shaped like a man with wings. "Soon, my pet. We will draw her out, and then she will be yours," He said. To be continued .... Chapter 6 The next day was as busy as Talia told her it would be. She spent the morning taking tests in mundane subjects like Math and English so they could place her in the proper classes. Then they sent her to the campus store to pick up textbooks and other supplies with a line of credit given to her by Mrs. Carson. She was somewhat embarrassed by this, especially when she found out she was to be given a small laptop computer as well, but the woman at the campus store assured her that she wasn't the only student who had come to the school with very little, and donations from successful former students more than covered the costs involved in helping her get started. Once she returned the supplies to her room, she went to what turned out to be a flying class. She soon discovered that although it was telekinesis that allowed her to fly, her wings seemed to help a lot, especially when she wanted to do tricks in the air. After the class was over, she had a quick shower and was getting dressed when a small flying girl flew over the top of her dressing stall door, landed on the small bench beside Faith, and said "You were amazing out there!" Faith squeaked, covered her breasts, and asked "Who are you?" "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Tink." Faith looked at the small girl, and realized that she was stark naked. "Can we maybe have this discussion after we're both dressed?" she asked. Tink looked down at herself, and went "Whoops. I was about to have my shower and saw you and wanted to meet you and I guess I got a little over-excited. I'll talk to you later!" With that, she zoomed over the top of the stall door and was gone. Faith suddenly realized she had been covering her breasts the whole time, and sighed to her mother, "Another girl habit I seem to have picked up without knowing it. A guy wouldn't worry about covering his top half." "At least it's a useful habit, hon," her mother whispered. "Yeah, but am I losing who I was before I became a girl?" "I don't think so, You may have some new habits that will help you ... blend in as a girl, but that's probably not a bad thing. And boy or girl, you're still my child, and I'm proud of you." Faith sniffled. Thanks, mom." Faith finished getting dressed, and Tink was waiting for her. "I just wanted to say sorry for barging in on you," Tink said. "It's okay. But I do have to go to my next class." "Okay. By the way, you're a pretty girl. If you ever want to consider modeling, I run a little club for girls with extraordinary features, like your wings. You'd be a great subject." "I'll think about it," Faith stammered, and fled in the direction of her next class. Faith's next class was self-defence. She went to the teacher, and said, "I'm the new student, although I'm not sure why I'm here." "Well, young lady, the information discovered by the young woman at the magic department, that your powers seem to be drawn from a very aggressive and violent people caused Mrs. Carson to want you to take self-defence." "I'm not sure I understand. Isn't self-defence kinda ... well .. violent?" "But its first and foremost about control. Controlling your emotions, controlling your mind, controlling your body, and then taking control of a situation. Those are the things I'd like to focus on teaching you." "Okay. What do I do first?" "Today, let's focus on learning how to stretch and loosen your muscles. I'll also get you to focus on your breathing." For the next half-hour Faith learned to stretch properly while breathing deeply and regularly. She was pleased to discover that her still-new- to-her body was very flexible, and that she seemed to pick up the training very fast. After a half hour, her instructor called her over to a large area where a young woman was going to give a demonstration with what looked to Faith to be a Native American tomahawk. She watched the girl create what looked like a dance, full of grace and speed, and alternated between feeling amazed and feeling somewhat jealous. Once the girl had finished, and the applause died down, the instructor went and pulled out a large number of weapons, and asked if anybody else wanted to do a demonstration. Suddenly, Faith felt a need for a weapon. She walked toward the pile of weapons, and considered them. Her hands reached for a short sword, but then she heard a voice in her head say "No! Not a blade. The staff, girl. The staff!" Faith managed to move her hands past the sword and grasped a wooden staff. The staff was about three feet long, and the ends were covered by hard plastic caps. Even though she had no idea how she was doing it, Faith found herself being able to thrust, perry, spin, block, sweep, to use two hands or switch from hand to hand like an expert. "Faith. You can stop now, Faith," Her instructor said calmly but forcefully. Faith blinked, and realized that she had unleashed her wings and was currently floating about a foot above the ground. She landed, pulled in her wings, and said, "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." "That's okay, Faith. But I want you to put away the staff now," The instructor said. Faith looked at the staff in her hand. The idea of putting the staff away felt like asking her to take off her arm and leaving it behind. "I ... can't ..." A voice in her head said, "You can. Where do your wings go?" The staff vanished, and Faith clutched her right arm in pain. Then she looked at the arm, and saw a tattoo of the staff on her forearm going from her wrist almost to her elbow. "Remarkable. Are you alright, Faith?" her instructor asked. The pain eased in her arm, and she replied, "I think so. I don't have a clue what I just did, though. And I think I heard a voice in my head." "Perhaps one of the students should take you to the infirmary." One of the students stepped forward. "I'll do it." "Excellent, Saphira." The young woman took Faith's arm. "Come on, hon. It'll be okay." While on their way to the infirmary, the girl said, "That was a cool demonstration." "It would have been cooler if I had actually known what I was doing," Faith said. "I know how that feels. When I manifested, I turned into a dragon. I thought I was gonna be stuck like that for weeks." "A dragon?" "Yeah. I'd show you, but I don't want to wreck my clothes. Anyway, here is the infirmary. I hope you feel better." "Thanks." The nurses checked Faith out, and told her to come back the next day when someone would be in who was an expert in avatars to find out the source of the voice Faith had heard. Faith was leaving when Talia ran up, and said, "I heard you had something happen, are you okay?" "Yeah. I have a new tattoo, and I seem to be a natural at stick fighting, though. And what are you wearing?" Talia twirled, showing off the bikini she was wearing. "It's a replica of the bikini Lea wore in Star Wars. I was going to wear it to the showing of the new movie tonight." "Where is it showing?" "At theater in the little town just down the road from here. But I can go another time if you need me." "No, go. I'm going to go eat, then try and make it an early night." "Okay," Talia said, and took off. Faith made her way to cafeteria, and grabbed a salad, a drink, and a bowl of soup. She sat down on the table, but before she could take more than a bite she was interrupted by Awen. "Faith, you have to go after Talia." "What? Why, Arwen?" "I just had a vision. She's going to be attacked at the movie theater in town. You have to save her." "But I'm not supposed to leave the campus. That shadow-creature you saw cant get me here. Cant we find someone else to go?" "No, its got to be you. But I believe you can win, as long as you remember your codename." "I ... don't understand." "You will. But go. Hurry." Faith ran ... To be continued ... Chapter 7 As soon as Faith left the building, she launched herself into the air, trying to get as much height as she could as fast as she could. Once she was high enough to see the town, she raced toward it, using gravity to help her go faster. It didn't take her long to spot the theater. It was the place where people were running away from screaming ... Then one of the walls exploded, and out of the wreckage came a three- headed dog. The creature was the size of a small car, and clearly very strong as it tossed bits of the broken wall away, sending them flying. Faith circled above the monster, trying to find Talia. Then the creature attacked someone in a storm trooper outfit, knocking off the helmet, revealing Talia underneath. Faith divebombed the creature, managing to distract it away from Talia. The creature turned and faced her, and suddenly Faith remembered her staff, summoning it from the tatoo on her arm. And she had been just in time, using the staff to block a bite from one of the heads of the creature. Faith thought her ability to fly would give her an edge, but she soon found out otherwise, as the creature could leap into the air to meet her. Within minutes of the fight starting, Faith realized she was going to lose. Even though the creature had not scored a direct hit yet, she was starting to get scratches and bruises everywhere, while she had done no damage to her opponent at all. Then Faith had an idea. She landed, spread her wings, and challenged the beast to "come get some". When it leaped, however Faith dropped to the floor, and swung her staff with all her might at the belly of the creature as it went over her head. The resulting "crack" was so loud at first Faith assumed she had broken the staff ... The creature crashed into a car, and for a moment, all was still. Faith shakingly got to her feet, and went over to the creature. It whined, tried to rise, and collapsed. "I could kill it. Now, before it can recover," Faith thought. "I was gonna ask if anybody got the number of the bus that ran over me, but I see it wasnt a bus, but a dog." Faith turned, and saw Talia limping towards her. "You okay?" Faith asked. "I'll live. Stormtrooper armor is tougher than you'd think." "Good. I'm thinking of finishing this ... thing now. I dont want to have to be scared of leaving the campus, scared for any of my friends who want to leave the campus." "But?" Talia asked. "But I keep thinking of what Arwen said to me when she told me you were in danger. She said I needed to remember my codename. - Mercy." "What do you think she meant?" "I ... I think ..." Faith looked into the mind of the creature. And was surprised by what she saw. She saw not a monster, but a fiercely loyal protector, who had been ripped from its home, and enslaved to be used as a weapon. Faith broke the chains around the creature's will. "You're free," She whispered to it. "I guess if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself," A voice said. Faith looked up, and saw a man with wings hovering over her. His bare chest was covered in strange markings that seemed to glow with menace, and in one hand he had a wicked looking sword. "Oh boy," Talia said .... To be continued ... Chapter 8 Faith said, "Talia, please go get help." "On it," Talia said, and started inching away. Trying to keep the man from noticing Talia, Faith launched herself into the air, and confronted him. "Are you the one responsible for this chaos? Did you send that poor creature to kill me?" "That poor creature is a hell hound. And he wasn't going to kill you, just hurt you - a lot." "Why?" "Because you have something that belongs to me, and I want it." "What do you think I have? I've just manifested a couple of days ago." Then their two minds met ... Faith saw this boy had started as a girl, until she had been beaten and raped, triggering her mutation, her sex change, and her desire for vengeance. Making her an easy target for a creature that fed on darkness, who was looking for a weapon of chaos and pain ... who went by the name of The Bastard. The new boy had taken the name Brand, and the code name ... Vendetta. And he had been responsible for nullifying her father's medication, in an attempt to trigger her change under the same kind of circumstances as his own. For a moment she was angry, but the more she looked into his mind, the harder it was to hate him. She also saw this "book" he was looking for - both a history of the people they drew their power from, and a powerful magical resource he believed he could use in his quest for vengeance. Then the contact between them was broken. "You ... don't have the book. Or at least not yet," Brand said. "No, I don't. But I can help you. Come back to the school with me. We can look together, you would be safe there." "You ... would want to help me? After what I did to your father?" "Yes. Because I believe in Mercy." For a moment, he wavered, then the anger came back. "Mercy is for the weak! I have to be strong!" "Believe me, it takes strength to show mercy. I could hate you for what you did to my father. But it wouldn't change it. Mercy is ... harder than vengeance, but at least it's not a dead end." "You want mercy? I'll give you some. I wont kill you right now. I'll give you a year to find that book and give it to me. If you don't, you, your friends, your school, everyone will suffer." Then he pushed her away, and roared into the sky. In a moment, he was out of sight. Faith allowed herself to sink to the ground, and shook. To her surprise, the three-headed dog limped over to her, and leaned against her. Faith put her arms around the hell-hound, and let herself grieve. Crying for her mother, her father, and surprisingly for the boy responsible for what had happened to them. Then she heard a voice. "It seems like you've aquired a friend." Faith looked up. "Mrs. Carson?" To Be Continued ... Chapter 9 "Yes, dear. Now, what are you going to do about your new friend, here?" Faith turned to the animal, and said, "You could go home, now." "Home is with you," She heard from the hellhound. Faith concentrated, and first her wings turned back into their tattoo form, then the staff did the same forming on her right forearm, and finally a glow surrounded the hellhound and a moment later Faith had a new tattoo, this one on her left forearm. Then she noticed something else, and she said, "Look, Mrs. Carson. There's writing below the tattoo of the hellhound. But I cant read it." Mrs. Carson had a look and said, "I can, dear. It says 'fidelis'. That means 'loyal'.. People have often used a translation of that word as the name of their pet - 'Fido'." "Fido, huh. I hope he likes the name. In the meantime, am I in trouble for leaving the school grounds?" "Not this time, dear. Arwen came to me after you left, and explained why you had to go. And I had your friend Erica put a scrying spell on you, so we saw everything. I'm ... very proud of how you handled yourself. Showing forgiveness to that young man was ... well done." "Thanks. It just seemed ... right." "It was. Are you ready to come back to the school now? Talia will be anxious for your return, since she met me as I was arriving. It was all I could do to keep her from coming back blasting." "Yea. I'm ... really tired." "Well, lean on me." The two of them made it back to the school grounds, and headed for the medical building so Faith could be checked out. Then Faith stumbled, and blacked out ... Faith found herself in a large, warm house, and after a moment, recognised it from the dream she had the other day. But unlike that dream, the place wasn't on fire, and she could smell something like bread being baked. She went towards the smell, and entering a kitchen found the older woman she had seen in the previous dream. "Just give me a moment, dear," The woman said, and pulled out of the oven a pan filled with what looked to Faith like miniature loaves. "There" The old woman said. "The panis can cool, while we talk." "Who are you? What am I doing here?" Faith asked. "You can call me Ava, if you like dear. As for what you're doing here, I have a gift to give you." "Gift?" Faith asked. "Yes. Come, I'll show you." The two of them walked to a room, and Ava opened the door. Inside the room, Faith saw a young woman who seemed chained to a large book. "Hello. I've been waiting for you," the young woman said. Faith recognized her voice, and said, "You were the one who told me to pick the staff, weren't you?" "Yes. The guardians of the Book of the People have always preferred the staff." "This is book Brand was looking for?" "Yes. But he never would have been able to have it. The Book only recognizes one who acts with mercy, as you did. That's why you're here now." "So I am supposed to guard this book?" "Yes, but much more. The time has come at last where one of our people can come out of the shadows and act as beacon of hope, a defender of the innocent. To in part make up for what our people became - warriors without virtue" "How can I do any of that? I've been like this for a couple of days!" "Don't worry. You have time to learn." "A year, if Brand holds to his word." "You can accomplish a lot in a year. Look how far you've come already." "So what do I do." "Take my hand." Faith took the girl's hand. Then the girl asked, "Will you take the book of the People? It has great power, but it is a great responsibility as well." "I will," Faith replied. Then the chain connecting the girl to the book vanished, and the girl sighed. "Thank you. I can rest, now," she said. The girl began to fade, and Faith yelled, "Wait! I have so many questions!" "The Book will have the answers you need" the girl whispered, and then she vanished. Faith turned to the older woman and asked, "What do I do now?' "Return to your world. I will be able to hold this space for you until your own power is strong enough to take over." Then Faith woke up, and realized she was laying in a bed in the medical building. She groaned, and Talia came over. "Back with us?" Talia asked. "How ... how long was I out?" "Just under an hour. But long enough to worry us silly." Then Arwen came into the room, and said, "You have two new tattoos since I saw you last." "Two?" I have Fido on my arm here, but ..." "You have one on the small of your back as well. Wanna see?" Faith nodded. Arwen helped Faith up, and then produced a small mirror while Faith looked in the room's large mirror. On the small of her back was a tattoo of a book being read by two fairy-size women with wings like Faith's. Faith smiled, and said, "Cool." Arwen said, "I've been studying about your tattoos, and I think they operate like a summoning spell. The items in the tattoos are stored until you call on them, and when you want them to, they will return to tattoo form. But this ... book, and your wings are a little different. See, the power for spells is called essence. As a magic-user, you have what's called a well of essence to draw from to use for spells. But I think your wings are like an extra well - they store essence, and they also pull in essence to replenish what's used." "So it's kinda like having an extra fuel tank on a car?" Faith asked. "Yes, but if you let them, they will also act like having your own gas station to refuel your tank whenever you need it." "And the book?" "That I'm less sure of, but I think it is a real spell book -with spells you could learn to use, and reuse. But it might be capable of a lot more than that. You're going to have to figure a lot of this out for yourself." "I guess I got a lot to learn, then." "Yeah. We'll be seeing a lot of you at the magic building." "Well, thanks, Arwen." "Anytime." Talia said, "You look beat, Faith. Maybe you should stay here overnight?" "No. I think I want my own bed, given the choice." "I'll check with the doctor for you." "Thank you so much, Talia. You've been a fantastic friend to me." "Well, you saved my life today, don't forget.' "But you wouldn't have been in danger in the first place if you hadn't been my friend." "True. But I think you're worth it." Faith smiled. The doctor came in, gave her a quick check and cleared her to go back to her dorm, so she and Talia walked home together. That night, Faith dreamed. In her dream, she was facing Brand again, but he was totally different. No longer consumed by hate and vengeance, he seemed free, and happy. He took her by the hand, and they flew into the sky together, as their people must have done for centuries before disaster struck. They danced in the sky together, and then landed beside a bed. At that moment, Faith realized they were both naked, and very much aroused. She reached out for him, and he for her, and a slow exploration of each other began. Faith was by now quite wet down below, and he was about to enter her ... Faith woke up crying ... To Be continued ... Chapter 10 Talia rushed into Faith's room and held her tight. "It's okay, sweetie. It's okay," she said. "Ta...Ta ... Talia?" "I got you, hon. It's okay." "Talia I ... had this dream ..." "Yeah. I know." "Huh? How?" "Hon, because of our friendship, you ... broadcasted to me. That's how I knew you were in trouble." "Why would I dream of ... that?" "Well, if I were to make a guess, I'd say it's because you're about to start your period. Same thing happens to me just before my period starts." "P ... period? Oh God I'm not ready for that ..." "Sorry, hon. Listen, maybe you want to do something for a bit to take your mind off things? Some of the students have organized a little flying tournament." Just then Faith felt a wave a comfort from within. She took a deep breath, and said to Talia, "Yeah.. I think that's a good idea." Faith quickly got dressed, and the two girls went to a building where training simulations were held. "We aren't using the building where I took my flying evaluation?" Faith asked. "No, because this exercise will include some ... obstacles," Talia said. "Obstacles?" "You'll see." The two girls went inside, and found a group of flyers being separated into teams of two. Faith got partnered with a girl named Ivy who went by the codename "Flygirl". Then the flying instructor said, "Okay. Saphira here is going to use her dragon form and start flying. After ten minutes, the first team will take off, and then every five minutes after a new team will be allowed to fly. There will be obstacles that you can fly over, under, around, or even through, and you will get points for being successful, and lose points if you fail. As well, Talia here will be firing paintballs, and if you get hit, that will cost you points as well. Finally, if anybody can tag Saphira, they will get bonus points. Any questions?" There were no questions, and then Saphira took off, changing into a nine-foot long dragon as she flew. After a few teams had taken off, it was Faith and her partner's turn, and Faith leapt into the sky, forgetting in her joy about the dream she had experienced the night before. She swooped, dove, and spun, going up, down, and through rings that would suddenly appear in front of her. She dodged the paintballs being fired by Talia, and giggled whenever one of the other flyers took a hit, getting splattered with pink paint. Her partner, Ivy (or Flygirl) seemed to turn into a kind of rocket, capable of great speed and pretty darn good maneuvering skills. Finally, the instructor called the game, and everyone flew back down. Faith and her partner Ivy ended up finishing fourth overall, and Ivy thanked Faith for being such a good player. Faith thanked Ivy, and promised to go flying with her again when she could. Once Faith had taken a shower, she felt a "pull" inside of her, and excused herself to go back to her room to figure out what was going on. Once there, she sat on the bed, took a breath, and closed her eyes ... Faith found herself outside the dwelling she had seen in her dreams, and she entered, and saw ... "Mom?" Faith's mother rushed over, and gave Faith a hug. "Goodness, it feels good to be able to do that." "But how are you here?" "This place is at an intersection point, between the spiritual realm and the Dreamspace. So with the help of Ava here, I was able to cross over, so to speak, and now I can be here for you." "That's fantastic, mom. I take it you were the one who calmed me down when I started freaking out over my dream and the fact I might be starting a period?" "Yes, dear. And there is no 'might' about it. Your cycle is about to start." "Oh God ..." "It will be okay, hon. But you should let me show you a few things about how to take care of yourself when it's your time of the month." Faith cringed, but realized she needed to know how to handle her period, so she allowed her mother to show her some tricks. After her mother finished, Ava said, "I have some other things to teach you. Do you understand why you have two fairy-like women alongside the tattoo of the book on your back?" "No, actually. Tell me." "They are us. Your mother and I. If you wish, you can now summon us into the physical plane in the form of a fairy. It will cost you essence, so I wouldn't do it casually, but should you need us beyond our ability to give you advice in this place, we will be there for you." "I ... cant even begin to thank you for what you've done for me, especially for bringing my mom here. And now you're offering to help me in the real world to? I ..." "I am the one who owes you, dear. Without you, the Book would have no guardian, and all we sacrificed would have been for nothing." Faith started to cry, and both her mother and Ava hugged her until she felt better. "Oh, I have one other thing to show you," Eva said, and whistled. From another room came Fido, who bounded over to Faith and gave her a triple-lick. "You're here too?" Faith said with a laugh. "Yes, mistress," The three-headed dog mentally replied. Faith's mother said, "We'll take care of ... Fido for you until you need him." "Thank ... thank you," Faith said, and then the three of them hugged again, joined by Fido. After a while, Ava said, "You should return to the physical plane. Next time you come, we can begin your lessons on the Book." "Okay," Faith said, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was back in her room on her bed, but before she could process all she had learned there was a knock at the door. "Come in," She said. Mrs. Carson came in, and said, "So, Faith, how are you doing?" "Good, Mrs. Carson. Thank you so much for all you've done for me." "You're welcome, dear. But I have some news for you. It seems that you and Brand may not be the last of your kind. I am going to interview a young woman who seems to be very much like you, except perhaps more ... aggressive, from what I have heard." Faith looked at Mrs. Carson in shock ... To be continued ... Chapter 11 "Do you think she's ... like Brand?" Faith asked. "It doesn't appear to be the case. She's described as a warrior, but not out of control. I'll know more when I meet her." "Well, if she decides to come, I'd like to meet her." "We'll have to see. Her name is Vantier, by the way." Faith's stomach rumbled, and Mrs. Carson smiled. "Sounds like you need to get some food." "Yeah," "Well, go eat, and dont worry. If this girl comes here, we'll make sure you can meet." "Okay. Thanks ... for everything." Faith left, and went to the dining hall to get some food. She found Talia there, and told her about Mrs. Carson finding another girl like her. Then, she heard a voice calling for Talia. She looked, and saw a girl coming towards them. Faith did a double take. The girl looked like a classic cat-girl. She had red hair, red fur, a long tail, and was wearing a short skirt, a tight top, and high heels. Talia jumped up, and squealed, "Lisa!" She then went to the girl, and kissed her on the lips. Once the two of them came up for air, Talia said to Faith, "This is Lisa, my girlfriend. Lisa, This is Faith. I emailed you about her." The girl shook Faith's hand, and said, "Talia said you saved her life the other day. I ... don't know how to thank you for that." Faith blushed, and said, "Least I could do for a friend." Faith emphasized the word "friend", and Lisa relaxed slightly. "So how was the archaeological dig?" Talia asked Lisa. "Fascinating." "You were on an archaeological dig?" Faith asked. "Yeah. Archaeology is what I want to study when I graduate." Faith looked sceptical, and Lisa added, "I know, looking like this, and I want to to be an archaeologist. But I an image inducer that allows me to look like a regular person." "Cool," Faith said. The three girls ate, and Lisa and Faith shared some of their histories with each other, and then Faith said, "I have to go over to the magic building. I'll see you later, Talia. Nice meeting you, Lisa." "Nice meeting you too, Faith," Lisa said. Faith went over to the magic building, and met up with Arwen. Then Arwen said, "I wanted to go over some basics about magic with you." Faith practiced for an hour, and then she felt something. "Arwen, I think I need to contact my dream space, do you mind if I stop practicing?" "No, go ahead. " Arwen said. Faith took a breath, and then dived in ... The first thing Faith noticed was the sense of sadness in the room. Even her mother and Fido looked down. "What's wrong?" Faith asked. Ava said, "I ... need to tell you something before you meet Vantier." Faith sat down on a chair, and said, "I take it it's not good news?" "It is the truth about what happened to our people." Ava sighed, and said, "A very long time ago, my clan separated themselves from the rest of our people. We built the Book, and we spent our lives trying to spread healing and increase our understanding of all life. Then the call came to go to your world, to help fight the GOO. We ... refused. We went, but only as what you would think of as medics - to heal those who would be wounded. Then the GOO found our home, and again we were offered the chance to fight - and refused. We focused instead on trying to secure a hiding place, and we succeeded. Then, we emerged, and saw the devastation. It ... broke us. One of our clan changed his name to Vendetta, and began wiping out the rest of us. Most of us ... didn't even resist. But I sent my granddaughter into the dreamscape with the Book, and that's the story." Faith felt the guilt Ava was feeling. "You think it would have been different if you had fought?" "I don't know." "I need to think about this," Faith said, and left the dreamscape. Waking up in the magic building, she excused herself, and went to Mrs. Carson's office. When she was admitted in, she said, "Mrs. Carson, I need you to do me a favor." "What dear?" "I need you to not tell Vantier I'm here, just yet. I ... need time to figure out how to approach her." "All right dear. I'm sure it will take her a couple days to settle in anyway, but that's probably as much time as you will have." "Thank you. I ... am going back to the magic building to meditate." Faith then left, and had Arwen set up a room for her in the magic building where she would be undisturbed. She sighed, and said to herself, "I ... don't know what to do ..." To be continued ... Chapter 12 Faith spent the next two days in a state of magical meditation, with her friends taking turns keeping an eye on her. While in that state, she communed with her mother's spirit, with Ava, and read from the Book of the People. After two days, Faith felt ready to face what would come, and came out of her dreamstate. Talia was there, and helped Faith to her feet. "You okay, hon?" she asked. "Yes ... I think so. I'm hungry though." "Well, you're in luck. It's just about suppertime," Talia said with a smile. They went over to Crystal hall, and got something to eat. It turned out the arrival of Vantier was the favorite topic of conversation with the other residents of Poe. And those conversations gave Faith a very different view of Vantier than the one she had in her mind. The girl they were talking about struggled with English but took corrections with grace, was kind, patient, and caring, and overall, the kind of girl Faith would very much like to have as a friend. After she ate, Faith was feeling too restless to sleep, so she went to the flying pavilion to get a workout. As soon as Faith entered the flying pavilion, she could hear voices from one corner. She got closer, and saw ... Her. Vantier. She was hovering beside another girl, who had almost blindingly white wings, and they were both shouting encouragements to a very young girl standing on a platform whose wings reminded Faith of a butterfly. Faith smiled, as the scene reminded her of when she was learning to swim, and a patient lifeguard had to encourage her to jump into the water. Deciding not to distract the trio, Faith went to another corner of the pavilion and took to the air. "Time to stretch my wings ... literally" She said to herself as she began to fly. Faith soared, she swooped, she spun and twisted and turned, dancing in the air, Suddenly, Faith felt she was being watched. She turned, and saw Vantier hovering nearby . "Hello" Vantier said. "Hello" Faith replied, and drifted closer. For a moment, they just hovered there together, and then Faith said, "Forgive me if I'm being forward, but I think I might be from the same people as you." "I believe you might be right. I sense a feeling of ... kinship with you." "Well, if I am not mistaken, I might have some information about our ... kin that you might want to know." Vantier looked at Faith, as if peering into her soul, and then said, "Let's go to my dorm-room. We can talk there. And did you know you were speaking ancient hawk lord back there? As only two others speak it on the whole planet and one of those is a GOO!" "I did?" "Yes and very fine I might add, like your were born to it!" Once the two girls made it to Vantier's room, Faith sighed, and began to talk about all she had learned, about how some had hidden from the GOO, but perished at the hands of Vendetta. At that point, Vantier asked, "All of them, gone?" "I don't know for sure," Faith replied, "Some may have fled and survived, and there is at least one other person who is a descendant, like me, who has access to a spirit from that time." "And what about him?" Vantier asked. "He ... he has been twisted by the Bastard, and is possessed by Vendetta." Faith paused for a moment, and then recounted her encounter with Brand, and how she discovered he had killed her mother and framed her father. How he had enslaved a hellhound to track her and then to attack her friend Talia to draw her out. And how she had offered forgiveness to Brand, only to have him flee, vowing to return in a year's time. Once she had finished, Faith sighed again and looked down at the floor, afraid that Vantier would be disappointed in her. Instead, the older girl stood up, took Faith into her arms, and hugged her. Faith clung to Vantier like a shipwrecked survivor to a piece of driftwood, shaking, finally letting out all the emotions she had held in check since her transformation. Then, out of nowhere, she hiccupped, which made both girls giggle. Faith sat back down on the bed, and the conversation turned to lighter matters, talking about the school and the friends she had made. Finally, Faith looked at her watch, and said, "I better go. I have real classes for the first time tomorrow, and I need my rest." "All right. We'll talk more another time," Vantier replied. Faith got up to leave, but just as she got to the door, Vantier said, "Faith?" Faith looked back. "I'm proud of you," Vantier said. Faith blushed, and left, practically floating all the way to her own room. She changed into a nightgown, and thought to herself, "Well, that went better than I hoped. I'm gonna have to ask Ava about how come I could speak the language, though. But for now, I better get some sleep." ****** Chapter 13 The next few days were as close to "normal" as Faith had gotten since her transformation. She attended classes, she hung with her friends, and she spent time on her computer. And she had her first period. Fortunately, her body seemed to protect her from the worst of the symptoms, and so while it wasn't an easy time, afterward she felt like she'd be okay, even during "that time of the month".` She even reached a kind of peace with the fact that she saw boys in a sexual way, realizing that just because she did a double-look at a boy didn't mean she had to act on the impulse, and if she found someone special she wanted to share herself with that was okay too. Of course, not everything was "normal". More than half her classes were related to her powers - two classes in Magic, a class in power theory, a class in self defence, and a flight class. But she understood the importance of learning how to control her power, especially with Brand still out there. Despite her course load, she did find time for her friends, becoming closer to Talia, Arwen, Ivy (Flygirl), and others. She also spent time in her dreamstate with Ava, Fido, and her mother, learning all she could about her people. Along the way, she learned that when she accepted the position of protector of the Book, she got the Hawk-lord language at the same time, and in fact English was now like a second language to her. Near the end of her first week, she got a treat - her magic class was given a tour of the magic library, and Vantier acted as a tour guide, and Vantier offered to dreamwalk with Faith if she wanted her to. After a couple of days, Faith was feeling like a human being again. Which was ironic because she found herself becoming less human, and more hawk-lord in some ways. Like as the week went on, she found she needed less and less sleep, until by the end of the week she could get by with a couple of hours at the most. Uncertain what to do with herself with the extra time, Faith wandered around and discovered by accident a group calling itself the Night Owls. She was surprised to discover how many students either didn't sleep at all or slept only in the daytime, but they seemed like a nice group, so she promised to come whenever she could to their meetings. Unfortunately, things were about to change .... Author's warning. The following part gets inside the head of a person who I would consider a sick puppy. Please be careful reading this section. You might feel the need for a brain-bleach afterward., but don't worry. I'll be right behind you ... Donavan: Donavan Ryder couldn't keep the smile from showing. Today was the day, the day when his plans would be set in motion. Donavan was one of those people who everybody noticed, but everybody underestimated. He had two sets of powers - one that was flashy and obvious, and one that was subtle and hidden. The flashy power was a TK field he could generate, and then channel into strength, durability, or speed. It was the source of his code name - Golden - because when the field was active it glowed a bright yellow color. But it was the subtle power he was going to rely on to accomplish his goal - to win the girl of his dreams - Faith. That power was the ability to make a person feel good, while at the same time fogging their judgement. In other words, he could make people high. For some reason, girls and women were more susceptible to his power than guys were, and even before he had realized he was doing anything, Donavan was using that gift to get girls. Unfortunately, one of those girls had moved away, and once free of his influence, she saw her time with him in a different light. He had been lucky to not be charged with a crime, but his parents had sent him to Whately and gave the girl a large sum of money to keep the whole thing quiet. Since he had arrived at the school, he had been very careful. There were too many magic users or psychics who might detect his power if he "pushed" anybody too hard. But Faith had changed that. Because Donavan had become obsessed with her. In his eyes, she was the ideal girl. She had a mix of confidence and fear, innocence and wisdom, strength and gentleness. And he knew he simply had to have her. So he had nudged a teacher to make Faith his partner in one of their classes, doing an assignment that would make sure they would have time together alone. He planned to start slowly, gently giving her a small amount of his gift. But over time, he would increase the "dose" until she would be so lost in pleasure she would agree to almost anything. And then he would use the down side of the gift. Because just like a drug, the pleasure he gave, if given in a large enough dose, would be addictive. She'd be "hooked' on him, forever. Once that happened .... well, he had fantasies he would have her act out for him ... And it all started today ... To be continued ... Chapter 14. Faith walked into her class feeling rather nervous. The teacher had told the class yesterday they would have to partner up for the next assignment, and she had found herself being partnered with a boy named Donavan. A lot of her nervousness was just new-kid jitters, or at least that's what she told herself. When the class ended, Faith's nervousness had gone away. Donavan seemed like a nice boy, and the topic they were