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"She Did It Again" By Zapper This story was inspired by a caption from CrestF You can see the caption at: http://crestftgcaptions.blogspot.com/2017/06/she-did-it-again.html Synopsis: Greg is shocked when he discovers his younger sister, Kelly, is a witch. Particularly since this revelation occurs after she uses her power to swap bodies with him after an argument. Unbeknownst to Kelly her actions awaken Greg's latent magical power and because the spell was mis-cast a simple temporary body-swap becomes more complicated. Enter the Covens of Light and Dark, politics, male and female hormones and things are soon spinning out of control. Will Greg get his body back or will Kelly decide she likes being the older masculine sibling? This story is complete and is intended as a stand alone urban fantasy. It was inspired by a caption written by CrestF. Life has a way of getting weird. Up until a few weeks ago my life was normal or as normal as it can be for a just turned seventeen- year-old boy getting ready to start his senior year in high school. This was my last year at Fairview High and I planned to make the most of it. I mean, if I wanted to go to a D-1 school, get a good education, and escape this tiny town I'd need a scholarship! My dad, Paul, is a mechanic and can fix just about anything. When he's not working at the garage he's taking on side jobs, handy-man work, all over town. It's honest, blue collar labor, but he doesn't have the cash to send me to school. My mom, Mary-Jo, works as a part time cook and waitress at the local dinner in our two stop-light, one gas station, one grocery story, town. That's why I'm up at 4:30 a.m., even though it's still June, and off to the high school for weight lifting. If I planned to start at linebacker in the fall, and turn enough eyes to get a scholarship, I need to put the work in. Then I'm over to the grocery story by 7:30 to work my part time job until noon. The beat-up Dodge truck my dad got for me when I turned fifteen, as a father-son fixer-upper, didn't look like much but it got me around town just fine. Having wheels meant that I didn't have to beg a set of keys for a date. The down side to having wheels was that my parents figured that since they gave me the truck I had a responsibility to run errands for them, or driving my bratty sixteen-year-old sister around. Speaking of my sister... Kelly wasn't too bad, sometimes. She's sixteen going on twenty-five, at least in her mind, although she's got the figure to fool plenty of people. Trust me, she does, I've gotten way too much firsthand knowledge lately... Back to the weirdness it all started on 21 June 2017, it was a Thursday and I'd just gotten off work... *** Chapter 1 *** "Greg? Is that you?" I let out a sigh as the screen door banged shut behind me. "Yeah, Mom. I'm home." I kicked off my sneakers and dropped my duffle bag full of sweaty workout clothes and headed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. "I need you to take your sister over to Vivian's house tonight." I paused in the act of lifting my glass to my mouth and glanced over my shoulder at my mom who'd followed me into the kitchen. At thirty- eight my mom's what most of my friends refer to as a MILF, although not where I can hear them. She's a foot shorter than me at five- three, but had a fierce look that still made me gulp and step back when she was angry. She brushed a loose strand of blonde hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. "Our church small group is having a potluck tonight and your father and I need to be there by seven. Kelly was invited to a slumber party at Vivian's and she needs to be there by eight." I groaned and drank half my glass of water before responding. "Can't you just take her and drop her off on your way?" Then after a moment added, "Isn't Vivian that creepy goth girl who moved into the old Bates place last summer?" "No, we can't. Vivian lives in the opposite direction on the other side of town from the church. And yes," my mother said, nodding, "she's living with her mom, Hazel. Hazel got divorced last year and moved up from New Orleans to get away from her ex. We've been trying to get them to come to church since they moved in." I finished my glass of water and sat it on the counter. "Why would you let Kelly sleep over? I thought you didn't approve of sinners." "Kelly promised me that if she got to go to the party she'd invite Vivian to church. She's even taking her bible in case Vivian has any questions." My mom moved to stand in front of me, her hands on her hips, "You can't bring the sinful into the light if you don't talk to them, Greg. I know you're focused on getting that scholarship, but you could be a little more like your sister." I snorted, "Yeah, right." "No, I'm serious. She gets excellent grades and doesn't complain about helping around the house." "Mom, I get decent grades, I'm above a 3.0 GPA, and besides have you seen the stuff she reads? Or checked her playlist? It wouldn't surprise me with all that Goth music, if she wasn't getting into witchcraft. Why do you think she's been hanging out with Vivian? It's not because she's popular." "Don't talk back to me like that, young man! I'm an excellent mother, and I know what my children are into. For example, I was going to wait until your father was home, but would you care to explain your browsing history?" "My browsing history? Mom, have you been on my laptop?" "Pastor Roberts says that parents need to know what their children are doing on-line. Care to explain why you were on busty-redheads- dot-com?" Rather than answer, I stepped around my mother as she glared at me, I avoided making eye contact while attempting to hide how embarrassed I was. Then, before I could escape the kitchen and my mother's glare I heard a high sweet voice that made me grind my teeth. "You don't really need an explanation, do you mom?" Kelly stood in the doorway and I could tell by the laughter she was holding back that she'd heard the whole exchange. "Greg was obviously beating his meat, choking the chicken, pounding his..." "Kelly Ann Pierson! Where on Earth did you learn to talk like that?" "Probably from hanging out with Vivian." I muttered. Mom glared at me. "Or from overhearing you and your team mates when you're down in the basement playing video games." At this Kelly leaned against the door frame and folded her arms under her chest. I wanted to laugh for a moment since the glare she gave me matched our mother's. In fact, she was almost a carbon copy of mom, except twenty-two years younger. Yet I knew her well enough to know that it was all fake. Inside, she was laughing at my predicament. "Greg, you are grounded for the next week." "Mom! That's not fair. I wasn't the one using the vulgar language." "No, you were just surfing porn sites. Oh, and I'm sure your father will want to talk to you about this tonight." "Does that mean that I don't have to take Kelly to her stupid sleep over?" "No, you can go to practice, work, and run errands... including driving Kelly to her friend's house and activities." Turning to Kelly, "Did you need something dear?" "I just wanted to know if you'd talked to Greg about driving me to Vivian's house." She stood up to her full, petite, height and smoothed out the skirt she was wearing. "Vivian said she plans to have a bon-fire do we have any marshmallows? I'm supposed to bring some and show her how to toast them." I ground my teeth in frustration, she'd obviously been eavesdropping. "I'm going to my room." I grabbed my gym bag and headed up the stairs to the second floor. My parent's master bedroom was on the main floor of our house with three smaller bedrooms on the second floor. A guest bedroom, my room and Kelly's bedroom and a bathroom that all three had to share. I opened my door and tossed my bag on the bed and looked over at my desk and the now missing computer. "I guess I'm grounded off my computer too." I shook my head and kicked the door closed. On the back of the door was a full-length mirror and I glanced at it. "I should have remembered to delete my browsing history." I wanted to smash my fist into the wall... but that would have resulted in a hole in the dry-wall and an even bigger lecture about controlling my temper and probably another week locked in the house. "Well, at least I still get to go to the gym and practice." With that I flexed my muscles and looked at the reflection. Just as Kelly took after mom, I took after my dad. My dark brown hair, grey eyes, strong chin and broad shoulders gave me what one of my previous girl friends had called, "Rugged good looks." I'd worked hard since I got into high school and that hard work was paying off. I'd also hit a growth spurt and was even taller than my dad. At six-three and two hundred pounds... two hundred "good" pounds as my football coach would say, I was ready for a killer season. I was also ready to see what the girls in my class thought of all my hard work. Just then my phone buzzed. I picked it up and I saw a text from Molly. Molly is my dad's best friend's daughter. She's seventeen and was more like a sister to me than my own pain-in-the-ass real sister. Molly: Did you hear? Caleb's parents are out of town this weekend. Party at his place on Saturday. Are you in? Greg: I heard. Can't go. Grounded. Molly: What happened? Greg: I don't want to talk about it. I tossed my phone onto the bed and turned on my flat screen. I flipped through a few channels and saw the NFL channel was playing a "greatest moments" special. I settled onto my bed and watched Barry Sanders break off an amazing touchdown run after escaping a TFL. Just as the special was getting over there was a knock on my door. "Greg?" My father's voice through the door caused me to sit up and turn off the TV. "Yeah, what is it Dad?" The door opened and my dad stuck his head in. At thirty-nine he's in great shape. I guess it comes from working hard all day since I've never seen him workout. I stood up as he stepped into the room and was still a little surprised at being taller than him. "I spoke to your mother." I felt my face flush but just nodded. "She told me you've been hitting porn sites." Then to my relief he laughed. "I thought you were smart enough to delete your browsing history." "You're not mad?" "Officially, yes. Particularly if your mom asks, I talked to you very sternly about looking at naked women." Then, laughing, he shook his head, "I remember what it was like to be a teenager. When your grandma found my stash of playboys' and my dad had this same talk with me. Just try to be a little more... discrete." I nodded feeling relieved. "Sure." "We're leaving in a couple of minutes to go to the small group thing. Mary-Jo's left a frozen pizza on the counter for you. After you drop off Kelly you should heat it up." With that he turned around and grabbed the door knob. "Dad?" "Yeah?" "Thanks." Laughing he shook his head, "Remember what I said... be discrete." Then he left. A few minutes later I heard the garage door open and close. I knew I'd have to leave soon so I figured I'd go down stairs to wait for my bratty sister. I stepped into the hallway and happened to glance toward the bathroom. I saw Kelly stuffing something into her pink backpack and shrugged. 'She must be packing toiletries. Lord only knows what girls need for a sleep over.' I thought as I headed downstairs. I'd just gotten a Coke out of the fridge and settled onto the sofa in the living room when I heard Kelly coming down the stairs. "Oh, good, you're done sulking. I was afraid I'd have to pry you out of your room." I glanced over my shoulder and up the stairs and felt shock race through me. "What the hell?" "Do you like my new look?" I stood up to get a better view. "Black leather skin tight pants, biker boots, black jacket, and what is that thing you're wearing on top? "A leather corset." "Does Mom know you own those clothes?" I was still struggling to reconcile my mind to the fact that my kid sister was this petite, hot, blonde Goth girl. "Of course not." She spun around, "What do you think? Can I pass for twenty-one?" "How would I know? Wait, are you going to a bar or something?" "I bet I could, but no. None of us has a car... Unless you're volunteering to be our chauffeur and drive us into Montgomery? Our circle could really use those muscles to keep the jerks away." There was a hint of teasing in her voice. "No, way. I'm already grounded, Mom and Dad would kill me." "Greg, you are such a pussy, besides I was joking. If you'd grow a pair and have a little fun you wouldn't be so uptight all the time. I swear, I'd make a better boy than you." "Me a pussy? Are you kidding, I play linebacker, and I've wrestled varsity for three years! You don't know the first thing about being a guy. Keep it up short stuff and you can walk to that Goth freak's house." "Yeah, but that's all you do, play with the other boys, and look at girls on line. You really need to get laid. You should have been the girl and I should have been the boy. I know if I had all those muscles and my pick of any slutty girl from school, I'd be getting pussy every weekend!" I felt stunned at her outburst. Kelly has always been jealous of me, since I'm older and got to do things she wasn't allowed. She always twisted things and claimed it was because I was a boy, but this was the first time she'd attacked my masculinity. Then the second part of what she said sank in, "What the hell! How do you know what I do on line? What do you mean you'd be getting pussy? You have one!" Then a new thought struck me, "Are you gay?" "Who do you think showed mom how to check your browsing history? She's pretty much technology challenged. And no. I'm not gay, I'm just saying you're more of a girl than I am." I moved around the couch and for a moment debated grabbing her and putting her over my knee. "You little bitch!" I snarled. "Well, fuck it and fuck you! I'm not going to drive you anywhere now." At this Kelly laughed, "Yes you will. What happens to you when Mom and Dad get home and I'm still here? They told you to give me a lift." "Then you should have passed the test for your driver's license." I gestured at her clothes, "Besides, I'll just say I didn't think it was right for you to go out looking like a hooker." Then before she could move I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture. Grinning I folded my arms across my chest and smirked down at her. 'Game over, Kelly,' I thought smugly. "A little disappointment will be good for you." "I can drive just fine, that stupid test was tricky! You want me to drive myself? Fine." Kelly said and sat her backpack down. Reaching into it she pulled out a thick book and rested it on the back of the sofa then glared up at me. "What are you going to do, little girl, hit me with your book?" "No, I'm going to try a spell that I saw in here," then added under her breath, "Vivian will probably kill me." She opened the book and flipped through a few pages before stopping. "Ah, here it is." Suddenly, I had an uneasy feeling, "Damn. I was right. You are trying to practice witchcraft. Wait until I tell Mom!" Kelly looked up at me and smiled evilly, "You won't tell anyone, because no one will believe you." Then she pulled a necklace with a star shaped topaz pendant from her bodice and gripped the gem as she started reading from the book. My bad feeling turned into a very bad feeling and I backed away until my back hit the living room wall. "Kelly..." I started to say and then trailed off when she glanced up at me and I noticed her eyes had started to glow with a rich golden light. I tried to lunge forward, to knock the book away to grab the necklace but I couldn't move. She'd stopped reading, sat the book on the floor, and was moving slowly toward me. Still holding the necklace with one hand, she reached out with the other and grabbed my arm. "So mote it be." A strange tingling sensation raced through my body and I shivered, but my body didn't move. Then I felt Kelly tug on my arm and I stumbled to one side falling out of my body! For a moment I looked at Kelly but she'd also left her body. I looked down at my semi- transparent form and then over to my sister's ghostly image. We were both standing next to our physical bodies! 'What the hell?' I thought. 'Not hell, but it is magic.' 'What are you doing? How can we talk? How can we be out of our bodies?' 'Magic. These are our spirits or souls, and this is what I'm doing.' With that I felt her tug on my arm and I realized she was still holding me. I stumbled forward and directly into her physical body and out of the corner of my eye I saw her step into my body. This time I felt a sucking sensation and an intense vertigo, and then the world snapped into focus. I gasped and blinked, "What the fuck was that!" I squealed, and then reached up to grab my throat at the sound of Kelly's voice. "Hehehehe... This is so awesome!" I looked up at Kelly and watched as she flexed my muscles. "I'm so big! I always wanted to know what it was like to be a boy." Then she reached down between her legs, "Wow, this thing is huge. How do you walk?" "K-Kelly?" "Not any more. I'm Greg and you're Kelly." "T-This is impossible." "No, it's not, its magic." Kelly took a step toward me and grabbed my hand, "Come on." Her hand felt like iron and she had no problem pulling me into the downstairs bathroom and flicking on the light. "Look into the mirror, sister!" For a moment I forgot about her and stepped forward. Wide blue eyes looked back at me. I reached up and watched the girl in the mirror slowly touch her face. I ran my tiny fingers over my delicate nose and rosebud lips not believing what I saw and felt. With a feeling of dread, I glanced down and saw the milky white skin of my cleavage sloping away. The odd sensation of having the soft assets on my chest squeezed and lifted by the tight leather corset was nothing compared to what my fingers found when I felt my flat crotch. "What do you think, Kelly, do you like the outfit now?" I spun around stumbled and then looked at Kelly leaning against the door, with the same smirk she'd had earlier, watching me and laughing. "Change us back!" "Sorry. No can do lil-sis. That spell was one that was really beyond my ability. I shouldn't have tried it, but you threatened to tell Mom so I had to do something." "What do you mean, you can't switch us back? You did it, un-do it!" I took a threatening step toward Kelly and balled my hands into fists. "I mean, that to safely restore us, we need Vivian or her mom, Hazel, to cast the spell." Then she pushed herself away from the door and smirked down at me, "And you're not so intimidating in that cute little body!" Something in me broke and I threw myself at Kelly hammering my tiny fists into her broad chest. Rage and frustration caused my eyes to water as I pounded my hands into her as hard as I could, with no visible result. "Ha! That almost tickles. I think I'm starting to really like my new body." Then I felt two iron-like hands grab my arms stopping my enraged, girlish attack. "Kelly, you need to get a grip on yourself. You might hurt your hands hitting me." "I'm not Kelly, stop calling me Kelly!" At this Kelly spun me around and grabbed my shoulders forcing me to face the mirror. "Who do you see when you look in the mirror?" "K-Kelly," the words were pulled from me against my will as I looked at my sexy reflection through my tear-filled vision. "Are you crying?" I could hear the delight in her deep masculine voice. "N-No-er-yes." I sobbed. "Do boys cry?" "N-No." "So, you must be a girl." Then she added, "I watched you check out your body. Do you have a penis?" I didn't want to answer, and I struggled against a compulsion, a need to respond to her questions. Somehow, I managed to stay silent. "I can see your fantastic tits. Boys don't have boobs, girls do. So, if you're a girl, and you most assuredly are, we can't call you Greg. Greg is a boy's name. We need to use the names that match our bodies." Abruptly, she reached around and grabbed the topaz pendant that had been resting softly against my chest. "Don't you agree?" I wanted to say no, but her logic was hard to resist. Especially, since I was looking at my reflection in the mirror and it was all female. Slowly, I nodded. "Good! I also agree, the bargain is struck. So-Mote-It-Be!" I felt a heat burst from the pendant and wash through me and I looked up at her and gasped. "What have you done?" She pulled the necklace up over my head and slipped it on. "I just magically bound our covenant. From now on, while you're in that body, you'll refer to yourself by your proper name." "What?" "Let's test it. Tell me your name?" "I'm Kelly." Then I stopped feeling stunned. I'd meant to say Greg. "I'm Kelly Ann Pierson, I'm a girl, and I demand you switch us back!" Again, I gasped as I'd intended to say I was Gregory Stephen Pierson, and that I was a boy. At least the rest of what I'd wanted to say came out right. "And I'm Greg, I'm seventeen, and I'm a boy!" Kelly laughed clapping her hands and making me-er-my body look all girlie. I put my hands on my curvy hips, "You've had your fun. Switch us back." "I told you. No. I risked advanced magic once tonight. I'll not do it again. Grab your backpack and meet me at the truck. We'll drive over to Vivian's and ask her to fix us." *** Chapter 2 *** I watched as Kelly strode off and I wanted to scream at the swishy- way she moved my hips! If any of my friends saw us they'd think I'd started batting for the other team. "Stop being a hysterical girl and get your overnight bag." Kelly shouted at me over her broad shoulder. "Bastard." I muttered and then felt a flash of annoyance since I'd meant to call her a bitch. I followed her into the living room and aware of my current body. The movement of extra flesh on my chest as it bounced in a soft counter point to the sway of my hips. It was like my natural stride was throwing this body's natural movements out of sync. I was also keenly cognizant of how the flat crotch of my tight leather pants hugged my new feminine pussy. By the time I caught up to Kelly she'd put the big leather book back into her backpack and held it out to me with one hand. "The pink doesn't really go with that outfit, but I'd look even sillier carrying a girl's bag. Don't you think?" I reached out to grab it with one hand and almost dropped it at the unexpected weight. "Why is it so heavy?" I gasped quickly using two hands to catch it before it hit the floor. "Because you have the strength of a sixteen-year-old girl." Kelly laughed, clearly enjoying the switch. "You know, if you'd prefer to just stay here, I can call Viv. I'm sure she'll understand. Of course, that means staying this way for a few days." "Not on your life! Let's go." "Oh, and now you're eager? Heheh..." Kelly chuckled at my discomfort. "I need to get MY wallet and keys. You keep them in your-er-my room? Top left desk drawer. Right?" "Yes," then I glared at her, "how do you know that?" "Not magic, I've ransacked your room once or twice over the years." I ground my teeth in irritation as Kelly sprinted up the steps taking them three at a time with an easy masculine power. I didn't want to sit still so I slung one strap over my shoulder and headed out to the truck. I didn't have to wait long for Kelly to arrive, but I was surprised when she tossed a small black purse at me. "You can't go out overnight without your purse. Silly, scatter-brained, girl, it's got all of your feminine hygiene items." I felt my face flush and wanted to scream but instead replied as sweetly as I could, "You're such a considerate brother." "I know, right?" Laughing she unlocked the truck, "Hop in lil-sis." I looked up into the cab and realized I'd have to use the running board because the truck was too high for me to get in normally. I tossed Kelly's bag in and then climbed up after it feeling humiliated at being so tiny. "You're not going to crash my truck, are you?" "Ha! You mean MY truck? Come on, sis. I've had my license for years." I punched her in the arm and grimaced as it hurt my hand more than Kelly. "That's not what I mean, and you know it." "Well, before I was Greg, I had a learners permit for a year. Dad lets me drive all the time. It was just that stupid written test I failed, not the actual driving test." "Yeah, but this truck is older than Dad's and it's got a manual transmission." "It'll be fine." I watched Kelly closely as she backed out of the driveway and then drove slowly, using back roads to Vivian's house. Luckily at seven thirty on a Thursday night there wasn't much traffic. "You know, there's something thrilling about driving a big vehicle with a manual transmission. It makes me feel... more... manly." "Fuck you." "I don't think that's very appropriate language for a young lady. What would our mother say?" "That you're an ass?" "She'd never call her son an ass. Now, if you want this body back you're going to have to act like a proper young woman, or I'll tell Vivian I want to stay here for a week." "You're having fun, aren't you?" "Hehehe... as a matter of fact, yes. Absolutely. I'm loving every minute. When I first saw that spell in the grimoire I knew I'd be using it on you at some point. I just hadn't planned on tonight. " "Why? Why would you want to swap bodies with me? You're always saying the boys are gross and I'm stupid." Kelly glanced over at me and smirked. "I had no idea I pouted so prettily." Then for the first time she looked serious. "Tonight? It was simple I just wanted to stop you from ratting me out to Mom and to get to Vivian's. However, truthfully, I've always wondered what it would be like to be a boy. To be the oldest child. To be bigger and stronger than everyone else. I thought it would feel like being a super hero in the movies. Now that I'm wearing your skin I've discovered... It's everything I'd thought and more. I like it and I'm enjoying a little revenge for all those times you bossed me around and picked on me when we were little." "I wasn't a bad big brother." Kelly shrugged, "I suppose not. Still, it's fun to have the shoe on the other foot." Then she glanced at me, "You know, if you'd take that stick out of your ass, and lighten up, you might enjoy the experience. Being a girl isn't bad. The orgasms are fantastic." I felt my face heat up, "Ew... gross! I did not just hear you say that!" I looked away from her and out the window, "Just drive." The rest of the trip passed quietly. I couldn't help staring at my ghostly reflection in the window, or wincing every time Kelly hit a bump. I swear she did it on purpose just to make my chest bounce and jiggle. "We're here!" Kelly announced turning off the gravel road and into a secluded driveway. I'd never been to Vivian's and looking at the house I had to suppress a shudder. The old Bates place was really a small mansion that had been neglected after old man Bates died. Kelly parked my truck in the circle driveway next to a broken fountain overgrown with weeds and ivy. "Let's go." I climbed down out of the truck and twisted my ankle at the unexpected distance. As he walked and I limped up onto the porch I had to suppress a shiver. There was something... odd about this place. The front door swung open before we could knock and a tall, thin girl, with a long nose in a black dress smiled and offered a welcome. "Hi, Kelly!" Then she looked at Kelly, "And this is that stud-of-a- brother of yours, Greg, right?" "That's me." Kelly said, extending her hand. Vivian reached out and shook it and then froze. She peered up at Kelly sharply and then glanced at me, "Something's not right. Your auras are wrong." She glared at me, "Kelly, what did you do? I felt a powerful spell being cast thirty minutes ago." "Don't look at me." I said, pointing at Kelly, "Ask him." "Vivian, it's my fault. I used a body-swap spell from your book to switch bodies with my sister." As soon as Kelly made her announcement I felt a surge of relief. For a moment I'd wondered if that stupid spell she'd cast to force me to use her name would prevent her from telling Vivian what'd happened. "Kelly?" Vivian asked looking at her friend then laughing she pulled out a necklace with a red gem attached. Holding the stone, she muttered something and her eyes flashed with red light for a moment. Then she looked first at Kelly and then at me. "Ah, I see. But how did you do it? That spell is beyond your skill and power." "I'm not sure. I was just determined to make it here tonight. Today is the solstice and we were going to introduce Molly to the circle." "That might be a problem, now. Why don't you two come inside?" When I stepped through the door I felt a faint buzzing and shook my head, "What was that?" Then her words hit me, "Molly is involved with this?" "Did you feel something when you stepped over my threshold?" Before I could respond Kelly jumped in, "That's her house wards. I noticed them too, the first time I came over." "House wards?" Vivian nodded, "Please, let's sit down and I'll explain a few things to you Greg, while we wait for Molly." I followed Vivian and Kelly into the living room wincing at the sound of my heeled-boots on the hardwood floors. Kelly and Vivian settled onto the sofa and I took a leather chair facing them. "What's all this about wards and magic? And you're telling me that Molly is involved with this?" Vivian kicked off her sandals and tucked her feet up under her and looked at me and giggled. "What's so funny?" "The way you're sitting there with your legs spread apart, just like a guy." I thought about snapping my thighs together, but what did it matter, I was wearing leather pants after all. Vivian looked over at Kelly, "It's hard for me to get over that you were able to pull off a body-swap." "You can switch us back, right?" Kelly asked, the two of them ignoring my original questions. "Are you sure you want to switch back?" "Of course, he does!" I answered for Kelly. "I've been enjoying how big and strong this body is, and teasing my brother, but yeah, I want my body back, eventually." "Knock it off." I glared at Kelly. "We want to swap back right now." "Let me explain a few things to your brother and then we'll examine the problem at hand." With that Vivian looked at me and I could swear her eyes flashed for a moment. "Magic has always existed. There are magical communities and we all try to get along with each other. While every community has its own traditions, there is one rule that governs us all. That rule is to remain hidden from normal people." "What? Why? I mean if everyone knew about magic wouldn't you be able to practice openly?" "Perhaps." Vivian's eyes seemed to gloss over as if lost in a memory, "Thousands of years ago people believed in magic and those without it lived in fear of those with the gift. Mistrust between the races drove us to conflict and many people, both magical and normal suffered. A great conclave was held with representatives of all the magical races and we agreed to go into hiding. Humanity had discovered science and our Seers foretold a future where normal humans had such powerful weapons that our individual power would mean nothing. The only path to safety lay in hiding." At this she shook her head and looked at me. "But that isn't what you need to know. I'm a witch. My gift requires a focus item for any spell greater than lighting a candle." With that she touched her necklace with its red stone. Then she nodded to Kelly, "Show your brother." Kelly pulled out the necklace she'd taken from me with its strange star shaped topaz. "That's your sister's focus. Yes, she's also a witch. I felt her latent power as soon as we met in school and I recruited her and last December at the solstice brought her into my circle. The necklace she's using was once my grandfather's." "I guess that makes sense. She used it when she cast the spell that swapped us." "Indeed. Magic and the use of spell-craft is like any other skill. It must be practiced and developed. For witches we also grow stronger if we form circles. Kelly is in Hazel and my circle and today is the summer solstice, we'd intended to add Molly. That would bring the circle to four and increase all of our power." "That's why I had to get over here tonight, and I couldn't tell you." Kelly added. Then looked at Vivian, "If the spell was beyond my power and skill, how did I cast it?" "You reached out and accessed the power of the circle through our bond. It's the first time you've used the circle to aid you in casting. This is a major step in your development! Congratulations." "Thank you!" "Can you fix us?" I wanted to shout but controlled my voice. "Me? No, I can help, but..." Vivian shook her head, "You and Kelly will have to work together to fix it." "We will?" Kelly and I asked simultaneously. "Why?" "Yes." Vivian looked at Kelly and frowned, "There are reasons why that spell should have been beyond you." Shel held up a hand and started listing points. "First is taking someone's body by force is wrong and usually has consequences. If you'd been my student longer you would have known that, even if it is your brother. Second, your brother has the same latent gift that you have, by using that spell you activated his gift. Now, because it's active but not trained, his magic will resist any foreign magic, including mine. Third, there is now a strange bond between the two of you and I'm not sure how that will influence any new spells. Fourth, and last, you messed up part of the spell, even though you took the strength from the circle to cast it, you don't have the skill, that has caused a derivation to what should be a straight forward magical Art." "I don't get it. How am I to undo what he did? I'm not a witch, I'm not a member of the circle, and I don't have either the training or the power." I spoke up angry and confused. "Those are all good points and mostly true. We need to initiate you into the circle, because you'll need more power than you have right now. We'll also need to find your focus item. Then I need to spend some time training you in the use of magic." "If we do that... what about Molly? You said you can only initiate one person every solstice." Vivian smiled at Kelly, "At least you listen, sometimes. Yes, we can either initiate Greg or Molly tonight. If we go ahead and do Molly, you two will remain swapped until December 21st because neither of you has the power or skill to undo that spell." I jumped to my feet ignoring the odd sensations that assaulted my male brain. "That's six months! We can't do that. I'd miss my whole senior season, my shot at a scholarship and getting out of this little town." Vivian nodded, "Or we can ask Molly to wait and bring you in now. After you're initiated it'll still take me a few weeks to teach you enough to attempt the spell." I looked between Vivian and my sister feeling a surge of anger, "If I heard you right my choice is stay swapped for at least six months and lose any chance at a scholarship or steal Molly's chance at becoming a witch now and swap back in a few weeks?" "I wouldn't say, steal. We won't decide anything until she gets here. After all, she gets a vote. It's not her fault that Kelly is impulsive and irresponsible." "Hey!" Kelly shouted and then glared at Vivian. "I'm not impulsive and irresponsible!" Vivian met her gaze calmly, after a moment Kelly looked down, chagrined, "Well, maybe impulsive. Are there no other choices?" "There are always additional choices. Molly is a witch and her talents are active, she has a focus item and has started to learn the basics. However, in order to grow and access greater power she needs to be part of a circle." Vivian looked at me and nodded to the chair. I got the hint and sat down. "Tell me everything you can remember about the spell, and how the magic swapped you." Kelly got up and towered over us before grabbing the overnight bag and rummaged through it for the book and sat it on the coffee table. Then she flipped through the book until she found the spell. "This is what I used. I read the spell and then used my focus to draw enough power to activate it." Vivian nodded, "That's normal. Then what?" "It was like I had this urge to touch Greg. When I did I could feel his arm but also his spirit. I took a step to my right and tugged Greg and we both stumbled out of our bodies. It was like we were ghosts. Then I somehow knew if I pushed Greg into my body I'd be able to step into his, so that's what I did." Vivian shook her head, "I've used that spell before, that's not how it's supposed to work." "What do you mean, you've used that spell?" I asked, and then I felt a surge of suspicion. "Who are you? I'm guessing you're not the original Vivian! There's no way a seventeen-year-old girl has this much knowledge!" Vivian nodded and stood up clasped her hands behind her back and started pacing. "You are right, of course, but how much should I tell you? How much are you ready to know?" "Everything, my dear." The woman's voice caused us to turn and look. The woman in the doorway was an inch or two taller than Vivian, with the same long, straight, midnight tresses, pale skin, and beak like nose, but that's where the resemblance ended. Unlike Vivian who was extremely flat chested Hazel was large enough to give Elvira a run for her money. "You must be Hazel," I said, standing up. For some reason I didn't feel comfortable sitting while this woman stood. She nodded to me and looked at Kelly who was also standing, "Been up to a bit of mischief, have you?" Kelly had the grace to look embarrassed, "I'm sorry I caused so much trouble." Hazel glided into the room and sat in the only remaining empty chair, gracefully crossed her legs. "Please, everyone, sit." Kelly and I sat down immediately and Hazel looked over at the still standing Vivian. "Molly will be here in a few minutes. I spoke to her on the phone and asked her to come right in. I think, Greg, here, needs to know more about witches." Vivian looked at me, "Witches are the weakest of the magical races, and the most versatile. That's why we boost our strength with focus items and circles. Warlocks are male witches, they are stronger in magic and can use focus items, but cannot form a circle. Only witches can. The max number for a circle is seven, don't ask me why, it just is. Two witches in a circle, each with a focus item can overcome a warlock without his focus, in terms of raw power. A warlock with his focus... well, it depends on his strength. A powerful warlock with a potent focus might be the equal to a circle of four or five." I felt a little lost but nodded. "Okay, focus items and circles, got it." Vivian flashed me a smile, "It's a lot to take in. Anyway, witches and warlocks will identify with an element; earth, air, fire, water. Mine is fire, your sister's is earth. Hazel's is water. Molly's is air, which makes her a perfect fit for our circle." I nodded and then looked at Kelly. "If only women can be in a circle, is Kelly still in yours?" "Very observant. No. The minute she took your body she became a warlock. You are a witch in that body. That is why we could initiate you into our circle and start your training tonight." "If I'm now a warlock, does that mean I'm strong enough to switch us back on my own?" Kelly blurted out, excitedly. "It's hard to say." Hazel chimed in and for the first time I noticed the ring with the sapphire gem on the index finger of Hazel's right hand. "I've been studying you. You've definitely become a warlock, but your power level remains that of a witch." she shrugged. "Perhaps you will grow into the full strength of a warlock if you stay in that body long enough." Then she looked at me, "You look like a brand new Air-Witch to me. Your power is weak and untrained. You haven't bonded a focus and until you do you'll stay where you are, power-wise. Once you have a focus your power will start to grow. Faster if you exercise it and train hard, even more if you join our circle. There is even a chance you will have the power of a warlock, in a witch's body depending on how this unique bond with your sister works. That would be a very potent addition to our circle." "But only a chance." Vivian added. "It is more likely, in my opinion, that you'll have the power of a normal witch." She glanced at Kelly, "And that your power will grow into that of a normal warlock. Provided you remain in your current bodies. Once you switch back, Kelly will be a witch and you will be a warlock." "The body shapes the spirit; the spirit controls and channels the magic." Hazel noted, agreeing with her daughter's analysis. "If you awoke my sister's gift and she turned mine on, why don't you just go around turning everyone into a witch or warlock?" I asked. "We can only awaken a gift that is already there. At some point in your ancestry, there must have been a witch or a warlock. That gift has been passed down to you and only needed to be activated." "Is this common?" "No, we were lucky to find Kelly and Molly in one town. I think the reason your parents were friends is due to the unconscious latent magic in your bloodline." Hazel speculated. Just then the front door opened, "Hello? Is anyone here? Hazel said to come in." "We're in the drawing room, dear." I could hear the click-clack of heels on hard wood and then Molly stepped into the room. She was dressed in an outfit almost identical to mine, except her corset was red and black and her normally long deep red hair had been dyed black on the bottom four inches. "What's he doing here?" Molly was frozen looking at Kelly. "You've got some explaining to do, brother." I said feeling a surge of pleasure at seeing Kelly squirm. *** Twenty minutes later a stunned Molly kept glancing between Kelly and me. "So, after that I knew we had to get over here to get this fixed." Kelly gestured between her and me. "Except, it looks like I can't fix it and Vivian can't or won't. Vivian said that I messed up the spell and that it's different from the one that she used." Kelly looked at Vivian, "I still don't understand why you can't just fix us." "If you'd cast the spell properly, yes, I might have been able to "fix" you. Now, I might just make it worse." "Okay, if initiating Greg is the only way to get them back in time for school... I can wait." I looked over at Molly and felt a surge of emotion. "Thank you, Molly!" I stood up and hurried over to give her a hug. "Uhm, Greg, you're squishing our boobs." I leaned back and shook my head, "Sorry, I forgot I had'm." "There might be another way." Hazel said. Her eyes flashed a soft blue for a moment as we all looked at her. "We've used the spell Vivian, we both know how it should work. We've already activated Molly's gift, we should initiate her. We desperately need to boost the power of our circle." Vivian started to protest but Hazel held up a hand, "At first, I assumed our circle was down to two, but is it? Greg's gift is active, I can feel it and I can feel the bond, weak but there. I think the reason that it feels like she's not in the circle is because she doesn't have a focus and her power is too new and weak. The bond is there, look." At this Vivian leaned toward me and grabbed her ruby-focus with one hand. Her eyes glowed red. "Yes! Hazel, you're right. Her aura is silvery, so her affinity is air; unlike her sister's earth." Vivian shook her head in amazement, "The bond to our circle should have been broken, instead, I-I can feel it, it's faint, almost like an echo of a bond, but it's there." Then she looked at Kelly and after a minute looked back at Hazel. "I can see Kelly's aura and I can feel her gift, her strength, but all I get when I delve her is that buzzing feeling I normally feel when delving a warlock." Kelly gripped her focus, "I can still feel the magic. I feel as strong... no... I feel stronger than ever!" Hazel nodded, "You are becoming a warlock. I think over the next few days your power will grow and grow quickly, the longer you're in Greg's body." "How is it you two know so much about this body-swapping spell?" I looked between the two witches and then settled-on Vivian, "I don't believe that you're seventeen." "You're right. This isn't my original body." Vivian sighed, and moved back to the sofa sitting between Kelly and Molly. "Molly and Kelly already know the basics, but it's new to you Greg. You see in addition to elemental affinities every witch or warlock is drawn to the light or the dark. That is not to say good or evil. Dark warlocks can be good and have performed acts of self-sacrifice for those they love. Just as light witches can do great evil if they choose. The distinction has more to do with the nature of darkness and light." "You can explain the philosophical and metaphysical characteristics of light and dark some other time, luv." Hazel interrupted. "It's enough to say you will be drawn to one or the other. Although, because we are of the dark, and because you are part of our circle, you will be drawn to the dark. But that's not a given." Vivian added. "Let's just say that those of the light and dark don't normally get along too well. In fact, we've had an on again, off again, feud for several hundred years, which brings me to Hazel and me. You see my original name was Alexander and Hazel here was my wife Abigail. *** Chapter 3 *** Alexander hurried down the sidewalk as quickly as his eighty-year-old legs would let him. The phone call from his wife had said it was an emergency. Although, for the life of him he couldn't understand what would constitute an emergency at the antique store his wife owned and ran. If she was being robbed she'd either have taken care of it herself with magic or called the police. Same thing if it was a fire, only with the fire department instead of police. Alex shook his head feeling a wisp of grey hair dance across his mostly balled head. He wanted to clutch his sweater tight against the wind but holding his cane in his liver spotted and shaking hand was more important. The handle of the cane was shaped into a Phoenix head and the ruby clutched in the Phoenix's beak flashed for a moment in response to his thoughts. Alex ducked his head against the wind and hurried onward. Just a few more minutes and he'd be at the shop. As he walked Alex was grateful that most of the stores in the area were closed at this time of night and there wasn't much traffic on the cobbled streets. Then he spotted the yellow glow of lights behind the drawn blinds in Abigail's shop. The store had once been a two-story brownstone house that they'd converted the lower level into the antique store. The both lived above the shop and enjoyed the quite life in the old part of town. Alex hurried up the steps and pushed the door open, a bell tinkled announcing his presence, and he looked around. The two foot tall figure of a wood-nymph carved from the stump of a lighting-struck oak tree next to the door was a relief. The guardian spirit Abigail had bound to the figure would have responded to Abigail's call. If it was still standing by the door then nothing too bad could have happened. Alexander glanced around looking for his wife. At first, he didn't see anyone. The shelves and the stacks of clutter made it hard to see very far into the shop. "Abi?" Alex hurried toward the counter near the back of the store. "I'm in here." The sound of his wife's voice from the storage area behind the counter drew Alex forward and he let out a sigh. Whatever the emergency was, it didn't look like it was time critical. Alex froze as soon as he stepped into the storage room. There were metal shelves to either side filled with items they had yet to inventory and tag for sale. The reason he froze was sitting in the middle of the room, under the only working overhead light, was the form of a well-endowed woman in her early thirties, bound to a metal chair, and gaged with what looked like a ball-gag. "What the hell?" "I caught her. She was going to set our shop on fire. I think she's of the Light." Alexander looked at his wife, noting that her stance was odd, sort of like she expected to have a larger chest and was leaning back to compensate. There was also a vicious tone to her voice that felt out of place. "What? That's crazy. We've been here for forty years and know every witch, circle, and warlock even those of the light. We have a truce." At this the big breasted dark-haired woman started struggling, her eyes wild, and in that instant Alexander reached out with a questing and felt blocked. The ward inscribed with chalk on the floor around the bound woman was preventing him from analyzing her. With a flash of intuition, he glanced back at the woman he'd assumed was his wife, "Who are you?" "My name is Hazel." Alex lifted his cane drawing on his power, but he was too slow as Hazel released a force-bolt. It hit him in the chest and he stumbled back a few steps as his dormant defenses sparked to life. Glaring at the woman wearing his wife's shape Alex lifted his cane as the ruby focus item blazed up with power. "What do you hope to accomplish?" He growled. "You can't beat me. I'm stronger than Abi. I'll bind you and turn you in to the Coven's Wardens. They'll never tolerate you breaking the truce." "That's where you're wrong. Vivian, now!" Abruptly, Alex felt a spell activate from behind him. 'She had an accomplice hidden under a veil.' he thought and started to turn. As he did a second set of runes, that had gone unnoticed as he focused on the witch bound to the chair, flared up. 'The force-bolt wasn't supposed to hurt me, she just wanted to push me into the trap!' Alex thought, unable to move. 'What do they want?' A young woman, probably no more than fifteen or sixteen stepped into view. "Mother, are you sure this is the best way?" "Yes, Vivian. When we break the truce, it must be those of the Dark that do it. These two are perfect. They'd never be suspected, they're too old and well known. We can show up at the coven, kill that bitch Windy and her circle and escape in the confusion. They'll identify us and chase us, but our escape plan is perfect. Once we get back here, we swap back with these two, and watch as the rest of the Coven-of-Light destroys them and their shop. That will ignite the feud into open war again and we will be able to advance our circle." The girl nodded and moved to stand next to the woman in Abigail's body. "But I don't want to be a man... and he's so old!" "You think I want to be in this ancient bitch's body? It's the only way to frame them. If we try a glamor, there are too many who will see through it. If they use scrying to find out who did it, the spell will show that it was Abigail and her husband Alexander who attacked the coven." "What about our auras? We're of the Light, won't that give us away?" Alexander watched as the person in his wife's body shook her head. "No, it takes time for that aspect of our aura's to shift and become attuned. The only way to figure out we aren't who we appear to be is a face-to-face questing, and we'll both shield against that! Now, we've already been over this, she's a water witch, as am I. He's a fire warlock, and you're a fire witch. That's why this is so perfect. For tonight, we will appear just as we are, a water witch, and a fire warlock of the Dark attacking and destroying the peaceful gathering of a coven of the Light." At these words Alexander threw his will against the invisible bonds that held him. He had to do something. If he didn't then innocent people would die. For a moment he felt the bonds weaken and then she was standing in front of him. The teenage witch stared into his eyes and started chanting. He felt a pull, those eyes, like twin blue whirlpools, they tugged at him and Alex fought. 'She can't be stronger than me!' he thought and then realized the truth. 'She must have the power of a full coven behind her!' Alexander felt a spinning and a tearing sensation, and the world went dark. He gasped trying to blink and realized there was something in his mouth. Dark hair formed a curtain when he looked down and after a moment Alex looked up and saw the woman he'd first seen tied to her chair in the storage room, looking at him. Alex tried to look around but in the darkness of the room couldn't see anyone besides his wife trapped in the water-witch's body. Alex felt for his power and gasped. It wasn't there! In a panic he focused trying to feel for his focus and then out of the corner of his eye he saw a faint ruby glow. Alex turned his head and spotted his cane, lying on the floor to one side. Alex focused on it and there was a tiny trickle of energy. 'Fuck, I can normally draw more power than that without a focus! What have they done to me?' Then he looked down, the tiny twin bumps pushing out from his chest where the strangest thing he'd ever seen. 'They used a body-swap spell. T-That teenage witch is in my body. She's got access to my power!' Alex looked over at Abigail and shook his head. The light faded from his cane. 'What can I do? Even if I had the strength, I need to be able to speak to use a Word-of-Power.' Then the woman sitting across from him winked. Relief flooded through Alex that was a classic gesture Abi used to bring him back to earth when he got too excited. She closed her eyes and the blue sapphire attached to the ring that the body-stealing water witch had removed and sat on the shelf next to Abi, glowed. Alex wasn't sure what she was doing until a few seconds later when the door opened, and the sound of footsteps approached. The two-foot tall statue of the wood-nymph came into view. The creature moved with a stiff- stilted gait as it stopped to look at Abi in a stranger's body. Then it nodded and moved to Alex. With stiff wooden fingers it reached up and standing on its toes grabbed the gag in Alexander's mouth and pulled. Alex gasped as the gag snapped and shook his head. The long dark hair whipped around felling odd. Then he looked over at his wife whose eyes were now open. She glanced at him and nodded. Once again Alex drew on his power, appalled at how weak he was, and then he glanced at Abi, "LIBERO!" The magic surged out of him leaving Alexander breathless. At the same time, he watched as the ball-gag fell away along with the ropes binding Abigail's arms and legs to the chair. "At last! Thank you, sweetie!" Abigail stood up, unsteady in her new body. "I'm taller and... there's a lot more weight... up top." She reached up to lift the huge rack on her chest. "Uhm, dear, you can check out your boobs later. Untie me, please." Slightly embarrassed, Abigail quickly released her husband. Once the ropes fell away Alex took a moment and then stood up. This body felt odd, off, the center of gravity was wrong, and the movement of flesh on his chest, even if it was considerably less than Abi's, felt strange. "What do we do?" Alex looked over at the woman he'd been married to for over fifty years. "We call the Coven-of-Darkness and let them know what's going on." "I agree, but first, we need to get to a sanctuary. We are too weak, and it'll take time to prove our identities." "What are you saying?" "Run, then call for help. If they come back and catch us now, we're almost helpless! The body-swap spell cut me off from my circle. I've tried, and I can't feel this witch's circle, either. You're a warlock and have never been part of a circle so you wouldn't know how to use it, but I'm guessing that you're cut off as well." Alexander looked up into his wife's face, not recognizing her and feeling intimidated because he was smaller and weaker in magic. He nodded, "What do you suggest?" "Grab your cane and follow me." Abi picked her ring up off the shelf and slid it on her index finger before leading Alex out of the store room and down into the basement where they kept the secure vault. Alex remained quiet, struggling to move properly in his gangly female body, more focused on not tripping than what his wife was doing. "There, this should give us some breathing room!" Alex looked over and saw that Abi had opened the heavy iron and steel door to the vault. The vault was tiny, with barely enough room for one person to stand inside. It had shelves on three sides and it was where they kept their most valuable artifacts, weapons, and resources. That's when Alex saw that Abi had picked up a Diadem with five points and placed it on her head. Each peak had a different colored stone and was attuned to a different realm. "Are you ready to travel?" "Wait, give me a second!" Alex pulled Abi out of the vault and then picking up a backpack he'd left there for emergences started filling it. He focused on the stacks of cash first, then guns, and finally the magical artifacts that might help in an emergency. "What are you doing?" "We don't know what's going to happen next. I'd like to be better prepared! I'm taking money and a few weapons... just in case." "You realize this makes it look like we just robbed the place?" Alexander lifted the now full pack onto his thin back startled at how heavy it felt. "If we get the opportunity to explain, we'll be out of hot water. If we don't, we'll be glad we took this stuff. Let's go." Then he noticed the small wooden figure of the nymph had followed them to the basement. Ignoring it he shut the vault door and reactivated the wards. "Alright, first to the training realm." Abi touched the topaz just over her left temple. Alexander knew the crown didn't need a lot of energy to work, this was one of the reasons it was so valuable. Yellow light poured out in a beam and a moment later a circle of yellow energy hung in the air. The circle was ten feet in diameter and through it Alex could see the soft light of the training realm. As far as he knew the realm held no native people. It was a safe place witches used to train their apprentices. Without needing prompting he hurried through the portal and turned around waiting for Abi. He was a little surprised when the statue of the wood nymph stepped through first. Once Abi crossed over the portal collapsed. Alexander looked around at the familiar surroundings. The circle of sandy earth extended thirty feet from where he was standing turning into a dome of red-brown rock that smoothly rose to apex thirty feet above him. There were four arched doors at each cardinal point one lead to the surface, one lead to a subterranean lake with a hot springs, the other to a bunk-room for sleeping and healing, the next lead to the a library, and the final arch lead to the surface. This was the training hall that Alexander's parents had used to train him in the ways of magic and he'd continued to use it after they'd passed away. When he married Abigail, he'd brought her here and she'd attuned the Diadem to it. "We can't stay here." Alex looked over at Abi who'd just sank to the ground. "We need to get to Genevieve's. I know, I don't understand the mysteries of a woman's circle, but you should be able to establish your identity. Then we need to try to catch these two..." "Hazel and Vivian Wright..." Abi gestured at her body, "This body's name is Hazel and you're in her daughter's body, Vivian." "I don't care what their names are, we need to get moving!" "Sorry hon, can't. I need to rest for a bit. That took more out of me than it should have. I'm too used to having a circle's support." "Then let me use it!" Abi pulled the silver and white gold crown off her head and stood up on shaky feet. "You probably can use it, but I'm exhausted, and you'll be just as tired once you use it. I think we should take a minute to plan and rest." Alex accepted the crown not wanting to think about his body or how it moved. He put the crown on his head and then looked closely at Abi. He'd never seen this woman before, but she looked dog-tired. Reluctantly, he nodded, "Rest, I'm going to put most of the stuff from this pack in storage. I'll keep a gun and some money, but everything else can stay here." Abi settled back onto the soft sand floor and closed her eyes, "I'll be here." Alex hurried out of the training hall toward the bunk-room. Crystals along the passage-way flared to life as they sensed his approach. They'd been warded by his parents to come alive when they sensed someone approaching. From time to time he'd had to recharge them, but that was small price to pay for not stumbling around in the dark. When he reached the bunk-room he paused to look around. There were eight single beds on the left and right of the room with a aisle running down the middle. At the foot of each bed there was a foot locker containing bedding and providing room to store personal items. Between each bed there was a small armoire suitable for holding clothes and other items. Alex hurried past the beds; the next area had been turned into a combination kitchen cafeteria. Alex ignored it and moved to a door that led to the store room. The shelves here contained canned goods, dried foods, spices, freeze-dried items, and even Army surplus Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MREs). It amounted to his personal bomb-shelter, if he had been a survivalist. Finding an empty shelf, he started unloading the backpack. "Let's see, I'll keep ten grand, in cash. My 9mm, and a.22 for Abi. Oh, and this should help!" The set of rings had been charged with magic, like a modern battery. "Just enough energy to give us a boost, if we need it." Then he tried to draw magic through his focus, "And based on what I can draw... we're going to need them." Alex put one ring on and went to put the other in a pocket when he realized that the black slacks he was wearing didn't have any. "Stupid women's clothes." Alex returned to the training hall, with a much lighter backpack and found Abi now up and moving but still looking exhausted. For a moment Alex just stared, he knew it was Abi in that body, but the woman was a total stranger, and so much younger. 'I bet she's not even thirty-five! Abi just got fifty years younger.' Then Abi, as if feeling his gaze, looked up. "Here, this might help." He offered her the other ring. As soon as she slipped it on she nodded, "Thanks. You've got the other one?" Alex nodded, then asked a question that had been bothering him, "Hon, how can Vivian and Hazel be strong enough to take down a circle? If swapping bodies breaks the circle bond, Hazel shouldn't have been strong enough to stop me, much less take down a coven!" Abi shook her head, "They've been planning this, obviously. Hazel must have a few items with stored magic. I bet she knows the keys to pass through the wards undetected, she probably even knows the best moment to strike. The circle must be doing a 'working' tonight the sisters in the circle will be focused on the magic. If she strikes with enough stored magic and then Vivian uses your power, the power of a Fire-Warlock... it'll probably work." Alex clenched his tiny hands into fists, "It'll look like we planned it. Like the Dark has broken the peace. A lot of people are going to suffer." He shook his head trying to ignore the way his body moved, the strange sensations he felt, and the urge to check out his new form. "If you're ready, we should go." Abi nodded, "Where will you open the gate?" "Genevieve is the leader of the Dark Coven in New Orleans. I'm going to open a Gate to the garden behind her house, just outside the wards. We're going to have to do some fast talking if we're going to get her to believe us." *** The sun was rising, and Alex and Abi looked at the smoke rising above what remained of their brown stone. They were both in shock, it didn't seem possible. Everything had gone well or at least as well as possible. Genevieve had met them a few minutes after they'd touched her wards. 'She must have been awake to have arrived so quickly,' Alex thought. Trying to explain what had happened took no longer than it had taken Genevieve to quest them. Both Abi and Alex had dropped their mental shields trusting Genevieve and giving her full access to their minds and auras. After that things had moved quickly. Genevieve had called her counterpart in the Coven of The Light and they'd raced to stop Hazel and Vivian before they attacked Windy and her circle. Alexander and Abigail had wanted to drive across town, so they could be present to witness Hazel and Vivian being arrested, but Genevieve had put her foot down. This was a job for the Wardens. The Wardens were members of the coven trained in combat magic and charged with enforcing coven law. Alex pointed out that when he was younger he'd been a warden, but Genevieve waved him away. "You've been retired for twenty years and in that body, you're as weak as a new apprentice. You will stay here." As Alex shivered in the cold pre-dawn air and watched the last fire truck leave the ruins of his house, he'd learned from Genevieve what had happened. Evidently, cell phones and cars hadn't been enough. The Warden's of Light had arrived just as Vivian and Hazel were leaving the burning coven. A brief battle ensued, and Hazel had run out of power half way through the fight. Once her shields failed the Warden's hit her with a blast of hardened air that caved in her chest and killed her instantly. Screaming in rage at the death of her mom, Vivian had called upon her full power as a Fire-Warlock and summoned a fire storm. The blaze had pushed the Wardens back and when it cleared she was gone. They'd searched for her at her mom's house before going to the Brownstone where she'd left Alex and Abi. Vivian, despite her greater power had decided to grab Alex and swap back into her normal body. When she'd arrived, and found them gone she'd become enraged and summoned a Fire Elemental to destroy the house. That's when the Wardens of The Night had arrived. Since the Light Wardens had gone to Hazel's house the Night Wardens had taken the duty of protecting Alexander's house. They'd been too late for that, but they managed to bind Vivian. Unfortunately, Vivian's eighty-year-old heart couldn't take the strain of using so much magic, fighting, and running and had chosen that moment to give out. Vivian had died before they could use healing magic to help her. *** "That's how we came to be in these bodies, and why we know so much about body swapping. The Covens of Light and Dark decided we should assume Vivian and Hazel's identities, but we needed to relocate." Abigail-in-Hazel said. "In the view of the Light, getting bodies so much younger, and all of Hazel's assets more than made up for the attack. They had six dead witches to bury and families to placate." "In fairness, Hazel Wright came from an old family and had inherited a sizable amount of money, but even better, we inherited Hazel's house and considerable library of spell books and grimoires... including the body-swap spell. That spell is rare and frowned upon by most circles and covens." Alexander-in-Vivian added. "We, however, made it a point to learn that spell and the defenses needed to prevent someone from taking your body against your will." Kelly looked at the two women she'd considered mentors with a stunned expression. "Wow, and you gave me a book with that spell in it?" "It is one of the few spell books we have on earth magic and we didn't think you had the power or skill to cast it." "We also didn't think you'd be so foolhardy. You might have destroyed your own soul." Alexander-Vivian added. "What should we call you?" I asked. "I mean, do you prefer your original names or the names of the people you appear to be?" Vivian shook her head, "All of that happened a little less than two years ago. I'm seventeen and going into my senior year of high school, I don't think of myself as Alexander any more. I'm Vivian. Hazel is my mother and we're trying to set up a new life for ourselves here." "Now, if we're going to add a member to our circle tonight, we need to get started." Hazel said taking charge in a business-like way. *** Chapter 4 *** I rode next to Kelly, barely able to keep my eyes open, but my mind was still buzzing with the new information. Molly's initiation had gone smoothly and I'd felt the bond form as the magic from the ritual arched between us. There was no doubt in my mind I was also a part of the circle. I could feel the other three witches in a faint way. The ritual had turned out to be anti-climactic. I'd followed Vivian into their basement which had been turned into their sanctum. The basement was dark. All I could really tell was that it must be huge, since most features were hidden in shadow. However, in the center was a circle they'd already set up. There must have been over forty candles lit and set out around the circle to provide a flickering yellow radiance. They'd used chalk to inscribe it on the floor and then added symbols in a language I didn't understand around the circumference of the circle. "Kelly, you stand over there." Hazel said looking at me. When I didn't move she laughed and shook her head, "I mean Greg, please stand over there." Then she turned to Kelly, "You're not part of the circle right now so please go have a seat by the stairs and try not to touch your power." "Why? Will my masculine energy get in the way?" Kelly's question was for Hazel but she was smirking at me. "Yes, exactly." Hazel missed the by play between me and Kelly. She was clearly enjoying my body and wanted me to know it. Once I took my place outside the circle, standing on a specific symbol, Vivian and Hazel took their places. "Now, Molly, please stand in the center." "S-Sure." Molly sounded nervous as she moved into the circle. "This is the rite you had me study, isn't it?" "Of course. I'll lead the incantation, Vivian will channel power into me." Hazel looked at me, "Greg, keep your mind open. You don't have an active role, because you're so weak, but you'll feel a connection and then a tugging. That's normal, don't fight it." Then she looked at Molly "Pull out your focus and draw on your power. When you feel my spell touch you, you'll have to say the words and accept the link. When that happens all four of us will feel a burst of energy and we'll become stronger." Molly reached for the chain around her neck and drew an icicle shaped crystal from between her boobs. "I'm ready." I felt my mouth go dry and wished I had a focus as well. Instead, I stood still and tried not to mess the spell up. Hazel started chanting, too softly for me to hear the words clearly but I was pretty sure it was in a language I didn't understand. Then Vivian's ruby started to glow and I felt it. A light fluttering against the back of my mind and a ghost like sensation across my forehead like I'd just walked through a cobweb, I reached up to touch it, but nothing was there. Then the brush turned into a tingle as Hazel's sapphire started to glow. "Now, Molly." Vivian said, while Hazel continued to chant. The crystal Molly was holding began to spill a faint silvery light into the room. "Accipio!" The word hung in the air like a physical entity. Molly hadn't said it particularly loudly, but I could feel it reverberate in my chest. Abruptly, the faint light from Molly's crystal blazed up becoming brighter and brighter and as if in response the blue and red light from Hazel and Vivian's focus items also gained strength throwing back the shadows that had filled the room. Then I felt a knot of power settle into my chest and the connection from me, to Vivian, to Hazel, and now to Molly solidified. I knew where each of them was, even if I closed my eyes, and I could tell they were all well. In addition to sharing strength I was pretty sure that I'd know if anything bad happened to my new sisters. Then the light faded from the three stones and Hazel stopped chanting. "It is done." "I-I can feel you. Each of you, and I-I feel... strong." Molly gasped stumbling to one side. I moved forward feeling slightly dizzy and grabbed her arm to steady her. "I feel it too." "Greg, come with me." Vivian took me by the hand and picking up a candle walked to a wall that had been hidden in darkness. As we got closer I saw an old oak cabinet. Vivian dropped my hand and touched an ancient looking iron with a finger and whispered, "Patefacio!" I heard a click and she opened the door. By the light of the candle I could see dozens and dozens of stones. The cabinet had six shelves lined in a soft black felt and filled with crystals, gems, precious and semi-precious stones. Some had been cut into interesting shapes and others remained uncut. The number and variety of stones was impressive. "Each of these has the potential to become a focus or has served another Witch in the past as a focus. Just run your hand about an inch over the stones in each shelf, you'll know when you find your focus." Now, riding home next to Kelly, I couldn't resist looking down at the white moonstone still feeling amazed. The stone was attached to a necklace and rested on my chest. I'd been tempted to tuck it under my shirt, but I didn't want to feel the cold steel chain between my breasts. Just having boobs was weird enough. I thought back to that moment, when my hand had neared it, I'd felt a spark of energy and the stone glowed with a soft white radiance. "I- I think this is it." I whispered and Vivian peaking over my shoulder clapped her hands in delight. "Excellent! Semi-precious, and an ancient symbol of magic." With that she picked up my stone and pulled out a drawer from the cabinet. In no time she'd twisted silver wire around the stone to hold it securely and then attached the silver wire to a steel chain necklace. "That should work if you're in Kelly's body or when you get back to your own body." "We're here." Kelly announced pulling me back to the present and I had to give my head a little shake to wake myself up. The garage door slid open as Kelly pulled my truck inside. I was glad to be home and wanted nothing more than to go to bed. "I still think we could have stayed at Vivian's." "You forget, I-er-I mean YOU are grounded. It's already after midnight, and it'll take fast talking from both of us to keep you out of hot water, Greg." At this Kelly nodded and reluctantly shut off the engine. By the time we got into the kitchen it was clear mom and dad were home and were waiting for us, or at least Kelly. "Greggory David Pierson, come here at once young man!" With a gulp Kelly gave me a pleading look and headed into the living room. "Just stick to the plan," I hissed and followed behind. Mom and Dad were both sitting on the sofa watching television. "Do you have any idea how late it is?" "Where have you been? You realize you're grounded!?" Dad and Mom fired the questions one after the other. "Hi, Mom." I said in my soft Kelly voice stepping around Kelly. "It's really my fault." "What?" I felt like I wanted to wilt under my mom's fierce stare and was glad I'd changed into the clothes Kelly had brought to wear home tomorrow. "You see, once we got there Hazel, Vivian's mom," "That's Ms. Wright to you, young lady." Dad cut in. I nodded and continued without taking a breath, "Ms. Wright, asked Greg to come in. She'd made dinner and asked Greg to stay. He really couldn't refuse. Then Molly came over and we wanted to start the bon-fire, but Haz-er-Ms. Wright didn't know how to set it up. I volunteered Greg to help. Then after that he had to stay or it would have been rude." "Uhm..." Mom looked from me to Kelly and back, "Is this true, Greg?" Kelly nodded, "Yeah, but I kinda lost track of time. I'm sorry about being so late. Yes, I know I'm grounded." "Look, son, 4:30 is only four hours away. Get to bed. We'll talk about this in the morning." Dad said, standing up and putting a hand on Kelly's broad shoulder. "Why didn't you stay?" Mom asked looking at me. I shrugged, "Molly couldn't stay, and it just seemed easier to come home. Gosh, Mom, I'm tired. Can I go to bed too?" I gave Mom my best innocent Kelly look. "Sure, dear." I followed Kelly up the steps and caught her as she was about to go by my door to her bedroom. "Ahm, Greg, you must be tired. This is your room. You should get to sleep, it's gonna be a short night for you." Kelly stopped and turned around. "There's no way I'm getting up in four hours." At this I almost lost my temper, I grabbed Kelly's thick arm, "Are you kidding? You have to! I've got weight lifting and Coach takes attendance. Then I have to go to work." "I'm not doing any of that crap. I'm sleeping in!" With that Kelly pulled her focus from under her shirt and gripped it hard, "I want to switch back, now! So mote it be!" Abruptly, I felt a tearing sensation and the world spun around. I found myself looking down at Kelly. I had to reach out to steady myself against the wall as I was hit by a wave of dizziness. When the world stopped spinning I looked at my little sister who grinned up at me. "We're back." she said stating the obvious. "How did you do it?" "I-I don't really know. I could feel a connection between us, so I tugged on it and used my magic at the same time. This switch was different from the first one, but yeah. We're back. Now I'm going to bed!" 'All of that mumbo jumbo about needing to get stronger. To be careful, bah!' I thought. I pulled off her necklace and handed it to her, "I'd like my focus, please." With a very un-lady-like grunt she pulled my necklace off and handed it to me. "Enjoy your short night!" *** I pulled into the driveway feeling exhausted. Four thirty came all too quickly and after lifting I'd gotten cleaned up and then headed straight to work. Now, at noon, I wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. When I opened the garage, I saw that Mom's car and Dad's truck were gone. Meaning they were at work. The house was quiet, and I didn't even consider grabbing a snack from the kitchen as I headed to bed. "Welcome back, brother, or is it sister?" I glanced at Kelly as she stood up. She was wearing a pair of tight blue short-shorts and a white tank with spaghetti straps. She looked well rested and had a self-satisfied smirk on her face. "Kelly, I'm tired, and I don't want to play games. I'm gonna go take a nap." "I'm not tired, and I've been wondering, I can still feel the connection between us. I can't feel the bond between me and my sisters in the circle. Yet feel quite strong. Hmmm... I wonder?" She took a step toward me and fished her pendant out from between her tits. I didn't want to admit it, but I could feel a connection to her and if I focused on it I could feel the bond with Molly, Vivian, and Hazel. I was just too tired to care. "I-I don't feel anything." I lied taking a step back from my petite sister. "The connections feel different. I mean the one with you is different than how I remember my connection to Vivian and Hazel. It feels... I don't know, deeper?" Then she gripped the pendant, "Switch." The word echoed in my mind and I was hit by a moment of vertigo, then I felt my spirit move away from my body. I hoovered there floating above my body and saw Kelly's ghost like spirit floating above her body, then she dove forward into my body and I felt a power draw me down into her empty husk. "Argh! Greg! You did it again." Then I froze. "I-I called you Greg?!" Kelly smirked from my body. "Looks like our covenant is still in effect. Damn, you weren't joking around about being tired." "I want my body back." "Don't get your panties in a twist. I'll give it back. I swear to god you girls are just so emotional." Instead of responding I folded my arms below my boobs and glared at Kelly. "I just wanted to check something. Can you feel the connection with the circle now?" I knew I'd feel it, I'd felt it back in my body. "Yeah, it's there." "Okay, I'm gonna go through a set of exercises." "I just finished working out, my body is exhausted." "Not physical exercises. Magical ones. I want to see if I can push my power into the Warlock range. Besides, Vivian said practicing while physically tired is a great way to increase strength. "What am I supposed to do while you're doing that?" I shouted stomping my foot and feeling my boobs bounce. "And why didn't you put a bra on!" "Because bras suck and I wasn't going anywhere until one p.m. Which reminds me, Molly will be over in thirty minutes, she's taking Kelly over to meet Vivian for a lesson. Vivian doesn't know that we switched back and she wanted to start teaching you the basics. I've already had that lesson. So, you get to be in my awesome body this afternoon while I use your gross boy-body to get stronger." "Wait-What?" At this Kelly grabbed my hand and dragged me to her room. "Okay, take off that shirt and put this on." she tossed a bra at me. "You're kidding, right?" "Nope, the shorts and top are fine. It's hot out there, but you can't run around in public without a bra. What kind of a girl are you?" "I'm not a girl and I'm not changing in front of you." "HA! Not a girl, you pout like one. Why won't you change? Embarrassed your brother will see your tits? I grew them you know. I've seen them a thousand times." With that she sat down on her bed and grinned. "Besides, after seeing the sites you like to visit I'm not leaving you alone. There's no telling what you'll do when you get your hands on your first pair of boobs." "I've felt boobs before!" I said annoyed, "When I was dating Becky I got to second base!" "Just put the bra on Romeo-er-Juliette I should say... hehehe" "You suck." I pulled the top off and dropped it, amazed at the sensation of flesh bouncing around. I grabbed the bra and slipped my arms through the straps getting the tits, I really didn't want to think of them as mine, into the cups. Then I reached behind my back and tried to hook it. "Why are these hooks so tiny?" I twisted one way and then another. Kelly's chuckle turned into outright laughter then she slapped my hands away. "Let me. You'll never figure it out without help and Molly will be here soon." I felt her hook the bra in place and then to my embarrassment she reached around and adjusted my boobs in the cups. "Hey! Knock it off." I jumped away from Kelly stumbling a little. "Don't touch me like that, even if they were yours I'm wearing them now and that creeps me out!" She grinned and gestured to the tank on the floor, "Do you think you can get into that or do you need my help?" "Shut up, and get out." With that I pulled and pushed Kelly from her bedroom. Just then I heard a horn and knew Molly was waiting. "Damn him! Greg is such a bastard." I stomped my foot in frustration when I realized I'd been calling Kelly by my name. As quickly as I could I put her top on and pulled off her pendant. Kelly was waiting in the living room with a smirk on her face. She handed me my moonstone and took her topaz in exchange. "Just remember, Kelly, you're supposed to be at the mall with Molly. Mom and Dad don't know anything about the craft. Mom is expecting you home by four this afternoon. Enjoy the lesson!" *** Chapter 5 *** Mentally I was still tired, but Kelly's body was humming with energy. I tried to fight not to skip down the steps to where Molly was waiting for me by her mom's car. As I moved I was again reminded at how different this body was. My center of gravity was different and my boobs felt like they were bouncing all over the place and I got a strand of hair caught in the corner of my mouth. I paused at the front door trying to get a grip on this new reality. Everything around me was bigger and it took more effort to open the door. Molly had just gotten out of her parent's car and was about to walk up to our door. She flashed me a quick smile and as I got closer I realized I was now shorter than Molly. I also noticed I had bigger boobs. Not wanting to think about my current body I hurried around to the passenger door and opened it. I jumped in once more feeling like my body was moving in more than one direction at once. "How are you, Greg-er-Kelly?" "Fine, irritated with my sibling, how are you?" "I'm excited actually. I've had a few lessons, but this is the first time I'll get to use the power of our circle." She backed out of the drive and I felt a brief flash of jealousy, I didn't have a driver's license! Kelly, in addition to getting my body had my truck and could drive wherever she wanted. Then I smiled internally, 'I doubt she realized how tired my body is... I bet she swaps back in under thirty minutes.' "I didn't get a chance to ask you last night but what's it like?" "What's what like?" "You know," she gestured at me, "getting upgraded to girl status." "Hardy-har-har... you and Greg are so funny." Greg? Oh, hehehehe... that binding Kelly tricked you into agreeing too is still in affect?" I nodded. "Well, I know you're really Greg, I can tell who you are because you're wearing the moonstone. Kelly would never leave the house without her focus." "I guess, although, "Greg" has figured out how to swap us at will." Greg made air quotes around the use of his name causing Molly to giggle. Then what Greg said sank in, "Wait. What?" "Yeah, we got back last night, and he-er-she, ugh, stupid binding!" I rubbed my temple at the stab of pain and continued. "Anyway, he didn't want to get up this morning to workout or go to my job so he swapped us back. Then I got home just now, and he wanted to use my body to try and improve his magical strength. Plus, he said something about already having had this lesson." "That explains why you said you were irritated. That binding must really be something! Can you call her Kelly or use female pronouns?" I nodded, "Yeah, no matter how hard I try, when he's Greg, I have to use that name just as he calls me Kelly. If I try really hard, and focus, I can fight it. But it's physically painful." "I didn't think it was possible to just swap bodies at will like that. We need to talk to Vivian and Hazel about this. I bet it has something to do with her messing up the initial spell." The rest of the drive was quiet as we both had a lot to think about. I just looked out the window and tried not to think about how odd my body felt. To distract myself I closed my eyes, relaxed, and tried to feel the mystical connections Kelly had been talking about. The connection between me and my focus was instant and powerful. Then my bond with Molly was easy to find, it was like her presence existed in the back of my mind and without looking I could tell she was sitting right next to me. I could also feel Vivian and Hazel, but they were further away, less distinct, but still there in the back of my mind providing support and strength. I could also tell we were getting closer to Vivian and Hazel. Then I felt something new and different. It took me a second to realize it was a connection to Kelly. The connection was different, deeper and in a way more tangible. Yet I wasn't getting the comfort or strength from her that I got from the circle. There was no flow of power or sense of direction or distance. It was like this connection bridged two completely different kinds of people and magic. Then it hit me, this bond bridged male to female, warlock to witch, it was unique. 'Why is it she can cause us to switch whenever she wants? Does it have to do with magical strength? I wonder if I can get control?' Just then I felt the car stop and opened my eyes. The bright sunlight made me blink several times and it hit me. The Wright house looked huge and slightly run down in the light of day and fit the stereotypical idea of a witch's house. The grey paint was peeling and it needed a new roof, yet I got the impression from last night that if Vivian wanted she could have easily afforded to fix it up. "Why do you think they keep it looking like that?" Molly looked at me, "What?" Then she glanced at the house, "Oh, you mean the house? I think Vivian doesn't want everyone in Fairview to know how much money she has. I think it's like... camouflage. She wants to keep a low profile." I opened the door and stood up, "I guess that makes sense." My body felt light and full of energy, a big change from how I'd felt an hour earlier. Maybe Kelly did me a favor swapping us for this lesson. I almost bounced up the steps to the porch and spotted the two-foot-tall wooden nymph, only this time I paused to look at it. 'I wonder if it's the same statue from the story?' Then before I could examine the statue more closely the front door opened. Vivian smiled down at me, her long straight midnight tresses glistened in the afternoon sun. "Hey, Greg, you look like you're ready for a lesson." Then she looked past me to Molly, "Are you ready to get to work?" "Yes of course! I'm excited." Molly followed me up the steps more slowly. "Good, today, we'll be taking you to the training realm. We're going to be casting quite a bit of magic and we don't want anyone with sensitivity in the area feeling it." "The training realm?" I asked then remembered the story from last night, "You mean the place you went to when you were being hunted?" Vivian stepped back to make room for us to enter, "Please, come in." Then added, "Yes, exactly." I let Molly go by and then followed the two girls into the living- room looking around. Now that it wasn't night the light in the room was better and it was easier to look around. The hardwood floors were covered with Persian rugs that went well with the leather and wood furniture, and long drapes that had been pulled back to allow sunlight to stream into the room. Vivian went over to a small table sitting next to the sofa and picked up a simple circle made of either white-gold or silver. The Diadem had five points and each point held a gem. Vivian put it on her head and turned to look at us. "This is a traveling artifact, they're pretty rare and this one's been in my family for hundreds of years." I wanted to reach out and touch it but held back. The thing was beautiful an example of art and function being brought together to craft something amazing. "How does it work?" "Each gem is set to a location, either on this world or others. They can be reprogramed and attuned to new locations if you know how to do it." Vivian reached up and touched a topaz above her left temple. "Just channel a little power into the crown and touch the gem that represents where you want to travel too, and it will open a gate. The gate stays open for about a minute and then closes, faster if I want to make it close quick or longer if I channel more energy into the crown." Yellow light poured out in a beam and a moment later a portal of golden energy hung in the air. The circle was ten feet in diameter and I could see what looked like sand and several yards away a rock wall. "Go ahead, step through." I looked over at Molly, shrugged, winced as my boobs bounced, and stepped through the portal. I felt a buzzing against my skin as I crossed and then stumbled slightly in the sand. Knowing Molly would be behind me I took two more steps and turned around. The air tasted different, dryer than Alabama, like I remembered Phoenix being from a vacation last winter. 'I don't feel heavier or lighter, so the gravity must be the same.' I thought. The portal hung there, and I could see Vivian's living room through it. Then Molly stepped across. "Wow, this is cool!" "This is your first time here?" Molly nodded, "Yeah, normally we sit in the living room and either Hazel or Vivian lectures us. Then we do exercises to increase my magical strength and I've got a couple of cantrips. I can make a pencil float, I can light a candle, and I even managed to work a glamor to change my hair color." "We can do more now." I felt startled, I'd been paying attention to Molly and hadn't realized Vivian had joined us. Just then the portal collapsed into a dot of yellow energy and then vanished. "Now that you're part of the circle, you have the strength to do much more. On top of that, you'll still need to do exercises, every day. You'll grow in power for this next year until you reach your full potential." Then Vivian looked at me, "But first, I need to give Greg here a lecture on the basics of witchcraft and teach him the beginner's exercises. If you like you can listen or explore." She smiled at Molly and I realized that Vivian might not have a lot of female curves but when she smiled her whole face lit up, it made her pretty. "You should do that more often," I blurted out. "Oh?" Vivian looked at me, "Do what?" She lifted a single eye brow in question. It was an odd gesture for a girl. "Uhm, smile. You have a really nice smile." I felt lame for saying it but Vivian responded with another bright grin. "Thank you." She turned back to Molly. "That door leads to the bunk room and kitchen. That one to the lake and the baths the arch to the left leads to the library and the last one there leads to the surface, don't go there, please. You might get lost and then I'd have to find you." "Is there anything that might hurt me?" "Apart from other witches and warlocks visiting here for training? No. This place has no indigenous population. There are a number of indigenous animals including a few predators, but there shouldn't be any in this area. Most importantly this realm is rich in magic, which helps since we can do more here." "Why don't people live here?" "They do. The problem is that there is something about this place that makes humans sterile. Stay here too long and you'll never be able to have children. That prevents permanent colonization." "Oh my god, how long before that happens to us?" Molly asked her eyes wide and her hands dropping to her tummy. "Hehehe, don't worry Mols, you have to stay here for like a year, straight before it starts to affect you." "You said there's a kitchen? I haven't eaten today." "Just go down that way. The pantry is stocked, but it's all canned or dried food. I think there's some soup." Then Vivian turned to me, "Now, let's begin. Magic is everywhere it is the raw force of creation. Only those with the gift can touch it, shape it, and use it. Witches and Warlocks are generally thought the weakest in strength, but the most versatile of the magical races. We draw power into a reservoir of energy within our bodies and then use it to fuel spells. The more you can draw and hold, the more powerful you are." I nodded at this since we'd covered it last night. "Each of us has an elemental affinity, all that this really means is that spells within your sphere will come easier to you and cost less energy. Elemental magic is the simplest type of magic and most witches or warlocks are very good in their element." This was new, but it made sense, "I-I'm a, air witch?" Vivian nodded, "Yes, I'm fire, Molly is also Air. Vivian is water and your sister is earth. Water and fire are the two most common elements. Air is the rarest, so it's amazing that we've got two air witches in our circle." She gave me another smile before continuing, "I've got a spell book I'll give you when we get back to the house. I spent most of the morning printing up a basic book that has air element spells. The one I already had I gave to Molly." "Printing?" "Of course." Then Vivian laughed, "After the "incident" where Vivian and I lost our house, we collected up all the grimoires, spell books, and notes we could find. I bought a high-speed scanner and we digitized everything. Now our library is in a cloud. I'll never have to worry about losing decades worth of knowledge again. In fact, I've spent much of the last two years buying additional books and adding to our online archive. At some point during your training, when you've prove mature enough, I'll give you the address to the site and a password and I.D. so you can access the information." "Hey, I'm trustworthy." Then I realized I was standing there in my sister's body. "I-I might look like," I gestured down at myself, "Kelly, but I can assure you, I'm the responsible one." Vivian nodded, "Perhaps," she stroked her chin in an odd way that made me think it was a habit she'd picked up from when she had a beard. "If we can continue?" I nodded. "You'll find spells using Air easy to cast. The other elements will be harder, but for a witch the basics are simple. You'll also discover that water and fire will come more easily than earth because you are in a circle with Hazel and me. This is one of the reasons most circles try to get one of each sphere in the circle." Seeing that I was paying attention she continued, "Draw magic into your well, shape it by using your Will and a symbol for what you want it to do and release the magic. At the simplest level," she held out her hand palm up, "fire." I watched as a two-inch tongue of blue flame danced above her hand. After a few seconds it vanished, and she dropped her hand. "Did you feel anything?" "Yeah, a slight... surge?" "Very good. Yes, I drew in power and then used the word "fire" to shape it as I released the magic. That spell is what we call a cantrip. A minor spell that needs little power. The more symbols, the more efficient the spell. There is also a "community" influence. That is, if a number of witches used the same words and gestures over time, the spell gets more efficient. Most of our spells are in Latin because that's become the language of magic. Thousands and thousands of witches have used Latin and simple gestures and that's created a resonance with the manna." "Manna?" "Another name for magic or the magical field we all touch to cast spells. Watch. Ignis!" I felt the same surge as last time but the blue flame that appeared above Vivian's hand was four inches tall and lasted even longer before winking out. "Same amount of power, but using the spell a thousand witches before me used, made it more efficient." "That's incredible." "Watch," Vivian used her thumb to pull her middle two fingers into the palm of her hand flicked her wrist into a circle and said "Ignis" and spread all of her fingers wide, holding her hand palm up. The blue flame rocketed up nearly a foot and burned for far longer before vanishing. "The same amount of power, but adding commonly used symbols, in this case a physical gesture and the accepted Latin, and it's even more efficient. As a rule of thumb, every symbol you added multiplies the efficiency by itself. I got a two-inch flame for three seconds the first time. Then using Latin I got four inches for nine seconds. In the last case, I used the physical gesture for fire, the Latin word for fire, and released my will and power at the same time. I got a sixteen-inch flame for almost a minute." "Wow! So, I can come up with my own spells, but it'll waste energy. If I use "commonly" accepted spells..." "Yes. That's why learning spells from books isn't necessary and neither are lessons from me or Hazel. However these spells and lessons will make you much more powerful. I don't know of any self- taught witch who amounted to much." "Okay, I get it, I need training." Vivian nodded, "The other component is how much manna you can pull and hold in your Well. The amount you can draw determines how quickly you fill up your Well. The size of your Well determines how much power you can put into a spell. You can pull a good amount of magic using your focus and the strength of the circle, but your Well isn't deep yet. That limits you. I'm going to teach you a set of exercises, meditation techniques, and mentatic disciplines that will develop your Well and help you learn to maintain focus while casting." I nodded, "Okay, let's get started." *** I felt mentally exhausted when we stepped out of the portal back into the Vivian's living room. It was late afternoon, but I felt like I'd gone through a weeks' worth of two-a-day practices in fall football camp. After I got the hang of drawing power in, until my well was full, and then dispersing it safely Vivian had set me to that task. "One hundred up downs." "Up downs?" She nodded, "Fill the Well up, and drain it down. Repeat. Each time you gain increased control and you expand your Well. I want you to do that every morning after you get up and every night before bed." Then she'd moved off to talk to Molly about circles and how to use the strength the circle granted her. I'd wanted to listen in, but I soon realized that the up-downs were taking all of my focus. When I finished that exercise Vivian changed it up, fill my Well hold the power for one minute then release it. Again, but two minutes. Then three minutes, keep going until you reach the max you can hold and lose control. I got to seven minutes and discovered Vivian had brought a notebook and had me write down my progress. The next exercise required me to draw in as much power as possible in two seconds and release it in a cantrip she called light. "Lux!" A dot of light appeared over my palm. It wasn't very bright and lasted just a moment before vanishing. The goal was to pull as much power in a one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two slow count and cast. The longer the light lasted the more power I'd drawn. After the one hundredth attempt I'd gotten it to last four seconds. By the time I was done with the seven exercises Vivian had given me, all designed to improve my ability to draw in magic and my Well, I was mentally exhausted. Vivian seemed thrilled with the results. We were in the living room and Vivian handed me a large three-ring binder with what looked like several hundred pages. "Greg, for a one-day old witch, this is really good! You've got great numbers and are drawing through your focus smoothly. In a week you'll be ready to start learning about using the circle." "How does this work when I'm back in my, normal body?" "Kelly is working with Hazel now, but I imagine it'll be a few weeks before the two of you have enough strength to attempt to swap back." I looked at Vivian in surprise, "Hazel's with Greg?" Vivian looked confused for a moment and then smiled, "Ah, the binding. Yes, Hazel went by your house and picked up Kelly. We bought some property away from town with a hunting lodge. There is a secluded meadow by the lodge which makes it a perfect place to work if you can't use the training realm. We thought it best to work with you two separately from Kelly." "I guess that makes sense." Then I added, "But Greg already figured out how to swap us back. He did it last night before we went to bed and then this morning once I got home from work." Vivian gave me a hard look, "Come again?" "Uhm, yeah, well, he-er-figured out how to swap us back. It looks like he can just do it at will... and the stupid binding is still working." I added feeling irritated that I couldn't call Kelly, Kelly when she was in my body. "Stay here." Vivian ordered and left the room. When she returned she was holding a strange looking brass canister. She removed a leather tube and telescoped it out. "Oh, cool a spyglass!" "Not exactly," Vivian said, holding one end up to her eye and looking at me through it. The thing did look like an old telescope a ship's captain might have used two hundred years ago. I felt a tingle run through me as I listened to Vivian mutter. "Is that Latin? Are you casting a spell on me? "Shhh, I'm concentrating." After a few minutes she sighed and snapped the device closed. "Well, I don't know what to make of it. The connection between you and Kelly changed again. It's different from anything I've ever heard of. Tell me what happened, how it felt when you swapped?" I nodded, and doing my best I described in detail what if felt like, time freezing, getting pulled up out of my body and then sucked down into Kelly's... The feeling of vertigo and then everything snapping back to normal. "How do you feel now?" I shrugged, and was reminded of the extra flesh on my chest. "I'm not comfortable being a girl, if that's what you're asking." Then when she didn't say anything I added, "I mean, if I'm distracted, like when we were working on magic, I can forget that this isn't my body. Then something strange hits me, like the room being bigger or my boobs moving around and I realize this is just wrong." I shook my head feeling Kelly's hair swish around shoulders, "Not bad... different, odd, distracting, a little uncomfortable. I prefer being me." "Well, magically speaking, I can't tell that, that that isn't your normal body. Your aura reads, air witch, your spirit seems merged, and unlike last night there are no indicators that you weren't always a girl and that this," she gestured to me, "isn't your original body. Whatever Kelly did, it's new and unique. We're going to need to spend some time studying you two." "Uhm, Vivian, I really need to get going. My mom is expecting me for dinner." Molly interrupted. "Yes, of course. I'll see you three tomorrow. I think the next training session needs all three of you." Molly and I were quiet as we drove back to my place. I didn't know what to say and I was still embarrassed to hang out with Molly in my kid sister's body. Just then I felt a sense of vertigo and abruptly I was floating above Kelly's body. There was a tugging sensation and the world spun around me and with a snapping feeling everything stopped. I reached out to steady myself and grabbed the sink. Staring back at me was my face. I looked tired, wore out even, and when I looked down I saw I was holding a note. "Hey, I talked to Hazel about our... ability. She's very curious and wants me to test its limits. She asked me to see if I could do it without seeing you. If you're reading this then the answer is yes. Cool-huh?" "No, not cool!" My voice sounded rough, like I'd been shouting or talking too much. I felt tired and knew it would be twenty minutes before Kelly got home so I went to my bedroom planning to take a nap. Just as I lay down I felt the tugging and I was again floating above my body, the world spun and snapped into position and I was sitting in the car with Molly. "Greg?" "Who else?" "Wow, Kelly wanted to see if she could do a couple of swaps, back-to- back, to see if she needed to rest between or if it made you tired." "You mean he's going to keep swapping..." Again, the tugging, spinning, and snapping as the world returned to focus. "... us for the next few minutes?" I was now in my bedroom lying on my bed. "God damn it, Kelly!" Again, the world spun around, and I was sitting next to Molly. "Tell him to stop it! This is giving me a headache and I'm starting to feel really tired." "Okay, she said it was starting to make her tired too. She must be reaching the limit of what she can do with back-to-back swapping." The world spun around again, and I was lying on my back. This time I was drenched in a cold sweat, and gasping for breath. "Yeah-I-think- we've-reached-a-limit." Then the world went dark. *** Chapter 6 *** "Greg, hang on!" I stopped and looked back. I was tired, dog tired, and sore. I'd just finished the second practice of the day and I felt beat. Two-a- days had started, and school was less than a week away. August is hot in Alabama, so the first practice was two hours long at the crack of dawn. The second practice at five p.m. for two hours. I still tried to get four hours a day in at the grocery store, I needed the cash if I wanted any social life during the school year, but it made a daunting schedule of practice, work, rest, spell-work and magic- exercises, and end the day with another practice, then home to eat and go to bed early. My schedule hadn't left time for Kelly to mess with me, too much. She still insisted on swapping bodies, not when I was at practice or working, thank god. Evidently, part of one practice had been enough to convince her that slaughter-box drills, and bull-in-a-circle were things that she didn't like, and stocking shelves at the grocery store was just boring. I did end up doing most of my magic lessons in Kelly's body, since she wanted to practice being a warlock and due to my schedule, she had limited opportunities. When I confronted her on it and told her it was my body and she couldn't just "borrow" it whenever she felt like, she had the balls to tell me it was, "our" body and currently I was hogging it! Remembering back to that conversation still half pissed me off and half scared me. Right now, I was starving and wanted to go home and eat and then go to bed. "Hey, Greg. I just wanted to let you know, I and the other coaches are impressed! You added a bunch of muscle and strength this summer during conditioning and it's paying off. This was your best practice of camp! If you play like this in two weeks when we have our first game, well, scouts will take notice." "Thanks coach!" Coach Steel was a good guy and even if he was loud and demanding on the football field, he believed in encouraging his players, and setting goals. "I just want to help the team." He nodded, "You're penciled in to start as the Mike Linebacker, but I'd like you to start studying Fullback. We don't have much depth there and I think I'm gonna play you both ways this year, at least enough to give Todd a break." Todd was the starting Fullback and a friend of mine, but in this offense, we needed two or three fullbacks and we only had one. "Sure, I'll start studying tonight." Excited at the idea of getting to play offense and defense I pushed the key fob to unlock my truck. 'I bet this year will be epic! The talent we've got, we should be in good shape to win the conference and maybe get into the state tournament.' I thought. "Hey, Greg, I need a favor." At the sound of my sister's voice I froze, one hand on the door handle, "What?" I turned around and saw Kelly with a group of girls I recognized as the crowd she hung out with. "Can you drive us to the mall?" Kelly said, with a totally innocent expression. "We want to do some shopping and see a movie. Mom said, she'd pick us up after the movie, but we need a lift to the mall. Please?" "Uhm, Kelly, right now I just..." I felt the tearing-spinning- snapping sensation and having experienced it so often I managed not to stumble and stopped talking mid-sentence. Although, I heard my voice continue without a break. "... can't think of anything I'd rather do! I'd love to drive you and your super-cute friends, to the mall." Then Kelly in my body looked at Betty, a brunette who'd been crushing on me for the last two years. "Betty, did you do something new with your hair? You look really nice." "Oh, uhm, yeah, I got a new style. You really like it?" "I do, it makes you look... older and more sophisticated. Why don't you sit up front with me? How has cheer camp been going? I was disappointed that Kelly didn't tryout." I wanted to grind my teeth as Kelly, obviously enjoying herself, chatted with her friends. She even held the door, so the girls could climb into the back of the crew cab. I found myself in the back squished between two girls, Debbie and Julie, while Betty sat up front and chatted with Kelly. "Oh, me too! She said she was working on a project with Vivian all summer. She's been very secretive about it." "Not that big a secret," Kelly said, in my voice. "You know our parents are kind of religious fanatics? Well, Vivian and her mom Hazel are Wicca. Kelly and Mom have made it their mission to bring them into the church." "Oh! Kelly, why didn't you say so?" Betty looked back at me and winked, "That's so, noble." Betty gushed and managed to slide closer to Kelly in my body. Then as Kelly pulled onto the highway she reached over and felt Kelly's bicep. I was still ripped from practice and Betty ran her fingers over my arm, "Wow, you look soooooo strong." Kelly grinned my crooked grin and raised her arm flexing her bicep, "It takes a lot of work, but it should all pay off if I can get a scholarship." That was something I'd said often enough that Kelly repeated it easily, then she dropped her arm around Betty's shoulders. "Hey, do you have a date for the dance in two weeks?" Debbie, sitting to my right reached out and grabbed my leg in a death grip while Julie whispered, "Oh, my, god! Kelly was right, Greg does like Betty! He's going to ask her out!" "This is so exciting, like out of a movie!" Debbie agreed. I just clenched my teeth. I had no interest in Betty. Sure, she was pretty. In fact, over the summer her body had blossomed and with the new style she was hot, but I didn't need a new girlfriend. I'd been going out with Amy last year and then we broke up at the start of summer. I'd been hoping to get back together with her this year. Amy was the poster child for blonde bimbo, she had a killer body with perfect boobs... just thinking about her normally got me excited. The last thing I needed to do was date a junior, particularly one who was friends with my sister! "It'll be after the game and I'll need time to get cleaned up and changed, but I'd love it if you would go with me." "Oh, Greg. Y-yes, I'll go with you!" Betty squealed, her voice set my teeth on edge and I wanted to hit Kelly. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and listened to the girls and Greg chat for the thirty-minute trip to the mall. Kelly pulled up at the entrance to the Sears store and leaned over to give Betty a quick kiss on the cheek. "Okay, beautiful, send me a text tomorrow. I'd like to talk." Then she looked at me, "Have fun, sis." Before I could respond I felt the tearing sensation and the world spun around. I was now looking at my sister who gave me a wicked grin and then jumped out after her friends. I turned to look forward and noticed Betty hadn't left. She leaned in and brushed her lips to mine, "I can't wait for our date!" Then acting like she'd done something naughty she exited the truck. "Damn it, Kelly!" I muttered into the empty truck. "I'm going to kill you when you get home." As I drove home I thought about the last six weeks and how often Kelly swapped us. If she wasn't so lazy and thus avoided football practice and my job I was convinced she'd have kept us swapped for days at a time. She took every opportunity she could to wear my body and then point out how much she liked being a big strong guy. She'd tease me by telling me that I made a "super cute" girl and we should just swap for good. This had ended up with me spending most of Saturday and all of Sunday in her little body. I'd hated the heels and summer dresses and having to go to bible study before the service. Kelly had made sure that I learned how to do her makeup and walk in heels by telling me she wouldn't swap back if I didn't get it right. When it came to practicing magic Kelly always stuck me in her body. She claimed she was trying to build her Manna-Well, and as a Warlock she was having more success. As I learned to be more sensitive to these things I realized success was an understatement. Her manna- well had grown like a bodybuilder on steroids. So much so that a week ago Vivian had confronted Kelly on it. "Wow, Kelly, you're doing great! I can't believe how much you've grown your Well! At this rate you'll be a very powerful warlock!" Then Vivian paused, "When was the last time Greg was in his body for a lesson?" She'd been working with Kelly lately because she'd been a Warlock in her previous life and knew more ways to help "Greg" improve. Hazel, who'd been working with Molly and me stopped and thought for a moment, "I can't remember Greg using his body for a lesson." "Kelly, swap back with your brother, please." "Do I have to? I was just getting the hang of that Strength-of-the- Earth spell. I can hold it for almost twenty minutes and I was able to lift two tons!" "Yes, switch back. I want to test something." Vivian replied. I felt the tearing, spinning, and snapping into place that accompanied every swap and then I was looking at Kelly from across the training ground. I was glad to be in my body, but I'd spent so much time as Kelly learning magic that I'd become more comfortable using magic as a girl than I was using magic as a boy. "Now, Kelly pull as much Manna into your Well as you can." Vivian instructed. Once she did both Hazel and Vivian gasped. I looked at Kelly and tried to focus on sensing her power. It was a new art, one I'd just learned a couple of days ago, if you looked at another witch or warlock and reached out with your senses you could "feel" how strong they were when they filled their Well. Looking at Kelly, I was impressed. She had almost three times the Manna that I was able to hold. "K-Kelly, how long have you known that you have the strength of a Warlock, regardless of the body you wear?" Hazel asked. Kelly shrugged, "I'm not sure when I figured it out. I mean at first I was just trying to get stronger in Greg's body then... a couple of weeks ago I realized that the more time I spend as a Warlock the stronger I am in either body." "Greg, fill your Well, please." Vivian directed. I closed my eyes and pulled in as much manna as I could. Kelly, now in her body, was wearing my focus, but it didn't matter the connection was there and she was only a few feet away. Once I'd pulled in all the power I could hold I opened my eyes. I felt like I was bursting with energy, with life, everything felt sharper, more in focus, and I felt like I was on top of the world. Vivian had explained this was called a, "Manna High" it left as soon as I used the energy and drawn in. "Greg is holding as much manna as Molly, not as much as you or me, but only by a small margin." Vivian noted. "Go ahead and let it go, dear." Hazel directed. The two witches looked at each other both seemed puzzled. "Kelly has somehow developed the strength of a strong warlock while Greg is an average witch." Hazel looked at Kelly, "I can't feel our circle's connection to you. It's like you're a Warlock in a Witch's body. I don't think you can draw strength from us." "I can feel a connection to Greg. It's weak and it's like something is blocking it, but it's there. The circle feels weaker with Kelly and Greg in their original bodies." Vivian agreed. "Kelly, swap back with Greg, please." At this Kelly grinned, "Sure." The world spun around, and I glared at Kelly, "You don't have to be so delighted about it." "Ah, see there?" Vivian asked. "With Greg in Kelly's body the bond is strong. We are all sharing strength." "So?" Kelly said, a bit aggressively, "With four of you in a circle using your combined power, you're only a little more powerful than me, and I can tell, I'm still growing!" "Alright, Kelly, that will be enough." Hazel said. "From now on, Greg gets equal time as a Warlock when we train. I'm not sure what's going on with that spell, but he needs to learn to use his body. It might save his life someday." *** The next two weeks were a blur. The week before school started our football practices eased back into the routine we'd use during the season. One practice a day and no hitting after Wednesday's practice. Mom had insisted on shopping for school clothes and Kelly had talked her into two separate trips. "I don't want to look at cute outfits with Greg standing around complaining." Mom had agreed, but then Kelly swapped and stuck me with shopping for her clothes while she picked out mine. "I think we should each get to pick out the clothes we'll be wearing at school." "What does that even mean?" "It means that most of the time you'll be going to school as Kelly and I'll be going as Greg. Duh." I'd wanted to rage at her but her confident smirk left me wondering if she was just teasing, trying to get me to react, or if she was serious. I'd been mortified when Mom dragged me into Vicky's and had the sales girl measure me and then picked out new bras evidently I'd had a growth spurt over the summer. Even worse came the part where the girl helping us insisted on showing me how to adjust the bra to fit properly. Besides the humiliation, the trip hadn't been all bad. Mom is an enthusiastic shopper and we made a "girls" day of it stopping at the spa after the "hard" work was done. When I got home, I was in a good mood. I was normally tired and sore but in Kelly's body I felt light and full of energy. It was a good break, even if I didn't want to admit it, from the punishment I'd been putting my body through. Plus, I'd never felt as close to mom as I did on these little "mother-daughter" trips. My good mood vanished when I realized that Kelly was nowhere to be found. Reluctantly, I put away the things Mom and I bought, and I wondered if I was going to be stuck as Kelly all night. I went down to eat dinner and heard Dad telling mom that "Greg" had gone out on a date with Betty. I was worried enough to text Molly to find out if she knew anything. Kelly: Molly - this is moonstone. Have you seen topas? I'd worked out a way to get around the binding Kelly and I had agreed to. Only Molly, Vivian, and Hazel would understand, but that was enough. Molly: Hey, Greg, no. I haven't seen Kelly all day. I thought she was shopping for school stuff with your mom? OBTW - Great lesson today! I'm super impressed, even Vivian said you're getting better. I looked at Kelly's phone feeling confused. 'What lesson?' Kelly: Mols, what are you talking about? Topas did a swap at breakfast. I've been shopping with Mom all day. Molly: That was Kelly in your body today? Damn, she fooled everyone. She was wearing your moonstone. That made me pause, feeling worried I reached out to my focus and found it. It was some place to the west, probably in Montgomery. I tried to draw power and felt it respond. Just as Hazel had said during one of our lessons, distance wasn't an issue with a focus. As long as it wasn't shielded, a witch or warlock could always reach it. Kelly: T changed us during breakfast. No time to trade necklaces. Molly: Oh. God. She fooled everyone today. We all thought you had improved your Manna-Well. Kelly: Hey, gotta go. I need to find T. I thought for a moment and then sent Kelly a text. Kelly: You are so dead when you get home. Then having nothing better to do I took a shower and got into a set of Kelly's soft fuzzy PJs. Then I grabbed her laptop climbed into bed and settled in to watch Netflix and wait for my pain-in-the-ass sister. At some point I fell asleep. I'm not sure what woke me but when I opened my eyes it was late. I was comfortable, in a cocoon, and I didn't want to leave it, but something bothered me. All the lights in the house were out and someone had come in and put Kelly's laptop up and tucked me in. 'Probably mom,' I thought. Then my bladder demanded attention, 'Damn girl body, and bladder like a peanut.' I got up and went into the hall. As soon as I did I sensed magic. The spell was designed to radiate out and give a feeling of reassurance, comfort, and induce sleep. I drew on my focus and filled my Manna-Well. "Scutum." I said and made the gesture Hazel had taught me. I felt energy wrap around me and I was instantly wide awake. 'Kelly!' I thought. My focus, when I drew on it had only been a few feet away. Kelly was in the house and using magic. Magic to keep everyone asleep. I tiptoed down the hall and then peaked around the corner into the living-room. Before I got there, I heard the moans. I knew what I was going to find but I didn't want to believe it. "O-Oh god, oh please... right there! O-Oh don't stop! I love you... Aaaahhhhh!" I moved forward slightly and saw my body, naked, on the floor with Betty underneath. I could see a light sheen of sweat on Kelly's back as she picked up the pace, thrusting hard. "I really like you Betty, and your body is amazing, but I'm just using you for sex. You understand that, right?" "Yes, I-I understand, and I-I don't care. Just don't stop!" "Oh, oh fuck no, I couldn't even if I wanted too! This just feels too damn good! My dick feels so big in your tight little cunt. I feel so strong! So alive! Do you like being my fuck toy?" "Oh, yes, I love it. I love being your toy... harder... oh-god- right-there-I'm-gonna-cum!" Kelly's thrusting picked up and by the grunting I knew they were both close. Then, as if she could sense me, Kelly looked up and turned her head to the side, our eyes locked, then she winked. "This feels so good, I-don't-think-I-can-give-it-up! I-was-born-to-be-a-man!" At this I spun around and ran back to Kelly's bedroom. I could feel tears leaking from my eyes. How could she do this? Betty was her friend. Obviously, Kelly had used a spell to influence her mind, to make her want to be used like that. I was pretty sure that before tonight Betty had been a virgin. Just as bad, I'd never had sex and now Kelly - using my body, my dick, to have sex for the first time! I landed face down on Kelly's bed and started crying. As I lay there I decided enough was enough, I was going to talk to Vivian and Hazel in the morning. At some point after that I fell asleep. *** Chapter 7 *** I woke up and looked around. Sunday mornings were normally quiet around our house until Mom started getting us up for church. I tossed the covers to one side and slid out of bed feeling my soft hairless thigh brush against each other in a way that was still odd. 'I'm still in Kelly's body.' I thought. I went to the mirror and saw my sister's face hair tussled from sleep and skin a little blotchy. My moonstone necklace was sitting on the dresser, at some point after Kelly finished with Betty, she must have come into the bedroom and changed our necklaces. Even though we didn't have to touch our focus to use it, it always felt better to have it close by. Vivian said it was mostly psychological although there was a practical part. If a rival got your focus they could destroy it. This would force a witch to find and bond a new focus temporarily depriving him or her of their ability to quickly draw power. Then there was something more sinister, an enchanted device called a Witch's Box. A focus item placed inside would be unusable by the witch bonded to it, but the bond would still be there preventing the witch from bonding a new focus. A witch's box was very hard to enchant and the Wardens controlled them and used them to punish witches who abused their power. "I wonder if Kelly beguiling Betty into having sex counts?" I mused as I started brushing my hair. "Or casting a spell over the house to keep everyone asleep while she fucked Betty in the living room?" "Hey, little sister, how are you this morning?" I glanced at the door which was now open and saw Kelly standing there in running shorts and shoes, dripping with sweat. "What are you doing?" Then I turned back to the mirror, trying to act like everything was normal. Inside, I was seething. How could she be so nonchalant after what I'd seen her doing last night? And just as startling was seeing her work out in my body. Normally she was to lazy for that. This change bothered me almost as much as what she'd done last night. "Oh," she leaned against the door frame watching as I continued to brush out my hair. "I woke up early, feeling fan-fucking-tastic, so I went for a little run. Hehehe. Well, maybe not so little. Once I got going I felt so good I just kept going. Six miles in less than fifty minutes! I'm in such damn good shape. I'm starting to understand why you like working out so much. I may have to give football another try." I put the brush down, my hair looked pretty good, but it needed to be curled and styled before church. I looked over at Kelly, "You're an asshole." Then I started in on Kelly's makeup. Foundation first, then I'd work on my eyes. These tasks had taken me time to learn, but Kelly had insisted that on Sunday morning, if she were to swap back, I had to do all the chores required for her to look good. "You're only saying that because you're a virgin. Don't worry, Kelly, someday when you find the right guy, you'll understand how it feels." Without looking I threw my brush at her, sadly she stepped back just in time, allowing it to hit the door and bounce to the floor. "Get out! I need to get ready for church." Laughing, Kelly shut the door and I could hear her moving to the bathroom. I put on my necklace and then picked up my phone texting Vivian. Kelly: V, this is moonstone. I need a huge favor. Can you pick me up this morning and take me to Church? My mom would be thrilled with me for getting you to attend, and I really need to talk to you. I sat my phone down and finished putting on my "face." Then I went to Kelly's closet. The bright flower print sundress that Mom had bought yesterday for me, while we were out shopping, seemed like the right choice. The sweetheart neck line showed off Kelly's cleavage and my moonstone added just the right touch to the look. I found a pair of Kelly's sandals with almost no heel and slipped them on as her phone buzzed. Vivian: Ugh, I normally sleep in on Sundays. When do I need to pick you up? Kelly: Can you be here in forty-five minutes? Vivian: Yeah, but I need to hurry. Kelly: Thanks! I dropped the phone into Kelly's purse and went to the kitchen. "Morning, Mom." "Oh, hi, Kelly. You're up early." She stopped working on the pancake batter and looked over at me, "Oh you look nice, and that dress is perfect!" "Thanks Mom," feeling excited at her compliment I spun around in a circle allowing the dress to flare out. "I have good news." "Oh?" "Yeah, Vivian is going to come to church with us today." "Kelly! That's great news." Mom rushed around the island and gave me a hug. "I'm so proud of you, it's like you're doing missionary work without having to go to a foreign country." I nodded, "Yeah, she's coming by in a bit to pick me up. After that she wanted to know if I could have lunch with her and her mom." "Well, your father likes to have the whole family at home for Sunday dinner, but we'll make an exception this time." Then she lifted my chin with her hand, turning my face from side to side. "Your makeup looks really good. You've been practicing." Then she let me go and returned to the stove. "Sit down, I understand now why you're up early and already put together. Once you eat you can go out front and wait for Vivian." I sat down and watched as mom poured batter onto the flat iron griddle. The smell was enough to make my mouth water. 'If this works out, I'll be gone before Kelly gets down. I hope Vivian can come up with a solution to this swapping, because I don't know if I can take much more of it.' *** I looked at Vivian and then Hazel, wondering what they thought. The morning had worked out perfectly. Vivian had been five minutes early picking me up and I managed to escape without seeing Kelly's smug face. On the way to church I'd explained the problem. "She can swap us at will, and does it all the time! The only time I can count on being me is during practice or when I'm working and with what she said this morning I'm not sure if I can count on being me for practice! Last week, she stuck me in her body for three days straight, because she was having her period and figured I needed to understand what it was like." Remembering that horrid experience made me want to cry but I pushed those feelings down. "Luckily, "we" started "our" period Thursday after practice, so she only had to go to one football practice for me, although she messed that up pretty good, because she doesn't know any of the plays! Then yesterday she even fooled you into giving her a lesson in my body!" Vivian was startled, "She was wearing your moonstone and when I looked at her aura she looked just like you, an air warlock." Then she shook her head. "I thought you were starting to develop warlock characteristics but right now you're aura reads all witch." "I think it's got something to do with the bond we have and she's getting really good with beguilement." "She beguiled Hazel and me?" Then she shook her head, "Kelly's getting very strong and learning too quickly. I'll talk to Hazel, we need to figure out a way to slow her recklessness down, or she's going to hurt herself." "I-I'm also worried about what this is doing to me." I gestured down at my body. "I'm spending too much time as a girl. I'm starting to not only get used to it... I'm becoming more comfortable in this body than my original body. This morning, mom complimented me on my "face" said that I was getting really good at putting on makeup. I hate it. W-What if I... if I start to like being like this?" "Okay, let me talk to Kelly. I'm sure once she understands what this is doing to you, she'll at least back off, give you more time as a boy." "I-I don't think that'll work. I-I think he is starting to enjoy my life and body... I-I caught him last night having sex with Betty Johnson! I think he used beguilement on Betty to get her to do it." At this Vivian pulled the car onto the shoulder of the road and gave me her full attention. Even though she was in the body of a seventeen-year-old girl, I could see by the look in her eyes that she was much older, and this was serious. "It's a violation of one of the coven laws to enslave another person to your will. Using a charm to nudge someone toward a favorable decision is a grey area that lots of witches exploit, how strong was the spell?" "I don't know. I walked in on them and Betty didn't even know I was there, although "Greg" did. And, Betty was a virgin, and she was acting like... like a slut, like having sex was normal, even when Greg teased her and told her that she was his fuck toy, she loved it. That's not normal for Betty." Vivian let out a sigh, "I'd no idea things were getting so out of hand. I'll have to examine Betty to see if her mind was tampered with. This kind of magic usually has ill effects on the victim. She'll be having nightmares, and start acting erratically, depending on what Kelly did." The rest of the drive to church was quiet as we both thought about what Kelly had been up to. At church Vivian put on her best act. Pretending to be a sweet girl, but I could tell when we were all sitting together that she was watching Kelly. For her part Kelly pretended like nothing was wrong. Instead of sitting with us she sat with the Johnson family, her arm around Betty. After church as I was leaving with Vivian I heard Kelly ask Dad if Betty could come over for supper, since we had an extra spot. Now, sitting with Hazel and Vivian in their living room, the remains of our lunch, sandwiches and soup, sitting on the coffee table between us, I finished bringing Hazel up to date on what Kelly had been doing. The older witches looked worried. "You know, this kind of thing has a way of corrupting the witch as well as the victim." Hazel noted. "The thrill, the god like feeling of power, when you bend another person to your will can be intoxicating. It makes me wonder if we should call in a Warden to investigate." The role of the Wardens had been explained to me as part of a magical history lesson Hazel taught. The Wardens were Witches and Warlocks with special training and were used by the Covens as a police force. The community of Witches in the United States had organized into fifty Great Covens, one for each state. Beneath the Great Covens there were local Covens. The number of local covens depended on the size and population of the state. Each Coven governed a set area and the circles of witches and the warlocks within that area answered to the local coven. One of the more interesting rules was that for every coven of light there had to be a coven of dark. The witches and warlocks answered to the coven they were affiliated with. The exception was at the Great Coven. Each Great Coven had twenty-one representatives, ten each from the Dark and Light. The president of the coven switched every four years between the two giving each side a chance to have an extra vote at the great coven. Every other year the community held elections to decide who would be on the local coven. Every four years there was an election to determine who would be on the Great Coven. Any witch or warlock could serve on the local coven if you passed a minimum proficiency test. Basically, you had to know enough magic to function as a representative. However, to be on the Great Coven, you had to take and pass a set of trials that marked you as a Master Witch or Warlock. Hazel and Vivian, in their previous lives had passed the trials, but in their current incarnation, neither had a desire to go through the testing again. The Warden answered to the local covens for most issues. The Great Coven held a force of agents called Guardians. These were the best of the Wardens, who after proving themselves at the local level were nominated to become a Guardian. There was a set of trials they went through and additional training. They were considered an elite force with integrity beyond reproach. Vivian shook her head, "I don't think so, at least, not until we've tried to get through to Kelly ourselves. We introduced her to magic, we initiated her, and added her to our circle. We're responsible for her." "True," Hazel gave me a penetrating look. "I wonder, I mean, we could start by trying to put an end to the swapping. That would force Kelly to remain in her body and prevent her from abusing Betty, further." "It might limit her growth in power as well." Vivian added. "I'm concerned that her strength has out grown her judgement. We have a Witches Box in a vault. Without her focus, even though her Manna- Well can hold so much, she'll be limited in power. It would take her hours and hours to fill her Well without a focus, and I doubt she has the control needed to hold power in her Well long enough to do any significant spell work." "I think we should put an end to the swapping." I interjected. I thought limiting her power sounded like a good idea otherwise she could keep on making my life miserable. "HA! I suppose you would." Vivian laughed. "You know, as one former guy to another, being a girl isn't so bad." "Would you feel the same way, if you hadn't gone from being eighty to sixteen?" "Perhaps not." Then she looked at Hazel, "What did you have in mind?" "I know a Sorcerer in Montgomery who we could commission him to craft a spirit shield. If it's attuned to the link between Kelly and Greg that should shut the link down and stop the body swapping. Greg would just need to put it on once he's back in his body and then wear it to prevent Kelly from swapping." Sorcerers unlike witches used magic by crafting items or artifacts. They were greatly respected in the magical community because anything they created, once attuned to the user, they could be used by anyone with a magical gift. I didn't know much about sorcery, but Hazel had told me never to cross a sorcerer. The down side to that gift was that there were so few of them and they tended to be secretive. Vivian nodded, "I like that idea. As a long-term solution, but I wonder, I think I can modify our standard Spirit Shield spell. If I can attune it to the bond between Kelly and Greg, that might work. Of course, Greg wouldn't be able to hold the shield all the time. He'd need to bring it up whenever Kelly attempts to do a swap, but it would be quicker than waiting on your friend. After all, Sorcerer's can take months to craft an artifact. Plus, I'm sure this won't be cheap." "Agreed. Since you're better with shields, you can work with Greg today. I'll drive into Montgomery and see what I can work out. Then tonight, we'll need to pay a visit to Betty Johnson's house. I need to know how far Kelly's gone." I spent the next two hours working with Vivian. It started with her bringing up a Spirit Shield and then casting it on me. The shield cut off all spirit connections. I couldn't feel my bond to the circle, Kelly, or even my focus. "I don't like how this feels." I said. "Its like I'm suddenly blind." Vivian nodded, "They teach that to Wardens. It's useful for restraining rogue witches after they've been subdued. The problem is the counter is simple and uses less power. I'll teach you the shield and counter, but I don't want you to cast this spell on Kelly. It would only work for a few minutes and then she'd just swap with you anyway. After that she'd figure out the counter spell, the shield wouldn't work. You need to cast it on yourself when you're back in your "Greg" body." Once Vivian was satisfied I could cast the shield on myself she began modifying it. "This will take more power, since it's a new spell, but the Latin is good, and the movements are basic gestures for shielding. When you cast this one, focus on the connection you have with Kelly, direct the shield to block that connection. That should cause the spell to only block your link to Kelly. This is a new spell, so you're going to have to re-cast it at least twenty-one times, to set it." "Why twenty-one?" "Seven is a magic number, multiplying by three has always worked for me, when I'm creating a new spell or just modifying an old one like we're doing now." I drew in as much power as I could hold and then used the gesture for Warding and said, "Spiritus Praesidium, Kelly!" and focused on the bond between me and Kelly. The magic pushed out and I gasped as my Well emptied, for a moment I thought I'd failed but then it snapped into place. I could feel power flowing into my Well from the circle and my focus but there was nothing between me and Kelly. "Very good." Vivian smiled. "But adding Kelly's name wasn't necessary and cost efficiency. Try it again without using her name." I let the shield drop and then looked at Vivian. "I'm not sure this will work. Kelly can do the swap really fast, now." "When she first started doing it, was it so quick?" I shook my head, "No, it took longer." "That's normal. The more you practice the faster you get and the less energy it costs. Kelly has been doing this to you for almost two months, every day. It's going to take a lot of work on your part, but you can catch up. When you feel the swap starting you cast this spell and it should stop the swap. But you need to practice and get faster." With that as motivation I went to work. By the time Vivian dropped me off that night, I'd cast the spell seventy times and was feeling much better about it. "Hey, Mom, Dad, I'm home?" I shouted. There wasn't an answer, so I wandered through the house and out onto the back deck. "Hi." "Oh, Kelly, when did you get home?" Dad asked looking up from the grill. "I was just doing a couple of steaks for dinner. I hope you're hungry." "Hey, Kelly," Mom waved at me from the flower bed next to the deck. She was wearing a hat to keep the sun off her face and neck but looked like she was enjoying herself. Mom loved to garden. "Hi, Mom," I looked at my dad, "I'm starved. I just need to change out of this into something more comfortable. Is Greg home?" "Not yet, he's with Betty. I'm still surprised he's dating her, but the Johnsons are a really nice family." Dad flipped the steaks and the sizzle they made caused my stomach to rumble. "I got a text from him about an hour ago, he said he'd be home by six-thirty. Betty's parents have strict rules." "Okay, I'll be right back." I hurried into the house. If I got lucky Kelly would swap us back tonight, worst case it'd be during the night and I'd wake up in my body. Now that it was the week before school, we were only going to do one practice a day, in the morning so I'd have time in the afternoon to go over to Vivian and Hazel's place for extra magic training. *** I opened the front door carrying my gym bag full of dirty clothes. It felt good to be back in my body. Kelly had arrived home and after dinner swapped us so she could enjoy a proper bubble bath. I'd been relieved, but still angry at how she used whichever body she wanted on a whim. Practice had been good, I was starting to get a feel for playing Fullback and was pushing Todd. Not that I'd ever get to start both ways, but Todd hadn't had any real competition at Fullback since last year. "Oh, Greg, you're home!" Kelly said standing up from the sofa, "I'm so glad. We need to get changed so I can go out with Betty." She held up my phone, "She texted me, she wants to do a picnic, I know a great secluded meadow where we can eat and then fuck all afternoon." "I don't think so! I want to go to Vivian's and study this afternoon. It's the first time I've not had a two-a-day in two weeks." "Nothing's stopping you. I'll drop you off and then go pick up Betty." Kelly snapped and then I felt the tingling that precluded a swap. "Spiritus Praesidium!" I whispered quickly and made the warding gesture. As I felt my spirit tearing away from my body the shield materialized and I felt a snapping sensation as my spirit returned to my male flesh. "W-What happened?" Kelly looked confused and took a step back. "I learned a spell to stop you from stealing my body! Now, I'm going to take a shower, change and drive over to Vivian's." I took two steps forward and grabbed my cell phone. "I'm also going to change my password. I'm done with this little swapping thing." I felt Kelly draw in power and make a quick gesture, "Terra Tenaci!" As quickly as I could, I shouted, "Murum Aeris!" I didn't know what spell she was using but the defensive spell I cast would create a wall of air between her and me. It would be good for most physical attacks. The shield snapped into place quicker than her attack and then I felt the full weight of Kelly's power. I knew she was stronger than me. Her Manna-Well had developed over the summer and she'd filled it before casting this spell. My shield blew apart like it wasn't even there, and I felt my skin harden until I couldn't move. It was like I'd been trapped in stone. Kelly moved forward watching me and I felt her questing trying to understand the spirit shield still in place. Then she grinned, it was a smile that made me more than a little nervous. "You're trying to fight me?" She shook her head. "That's so cute. I'm far stronger than you and I know more magic." She tilted her head to one side and added condescendingly. "Do you know how when you go to the gym and you bench press? I've been in your body at the gym, last week I pushed 405 lbs. the forty-five-pound Olympic bar, plus four, forty-five-pound plates on each side. It was amazing. Then I looked over at the girls' soccer team, we had to share gym time. Denise, was benching the bar plus a pair of tens, and struggling with it." She was now right in front of me, "That's you and me magically speaking, you're Denise struggling to push sixty- five pounds of magic into your Manna-Well, while I'm over here benching four hundred and five pounds of Manna. Let's see how strong that spell is?" "Consentio!" The attack felt like a sledgehammer on the spirit shield, however it wasn't exactly right. Kelly didn't know what the spell I'd used was, and her attack was more brute force than anything else. Still, I felt it close around my mind making it hard to think. "Greg, drop that spell. You know you want to switch. You love being a girl." Then she added, "Consentio!" Again, I felt the magic, I tried to move, to back away, but the spell she'd cast on my body held. I could feel tentacles of her magic moving around the spirit shield invading my mind and I fought against the intrusion. Then I felt her once again pushing against the shield trying to swap us, but it held. "Greg, come on. I really want to go fuck Betty, and she's expecting me. She'll be very disappointed if I don't show up. You don't want to hurt her, do you? Consentio!" 'No, I don't want to hurt Betty.' I thought. 'But I don't want to be Kelly!' I could see that Kelly was getting frustrated and impatient. She was holding her focus with one hand and I could tell she'd filled her Manna-Well until it was ready to burst. Her eyes started to glow with her power. "Greg," her words echoed strangely in my mind, it was impossible to think, "You love being a girl. You hate being a big, hairy, disgusting boy! You LOVE it when we swap. Your deepest desire is to switch lives with me. To become Kelly... FOREVER! Now, beg me to swap." Then she gestured and the spell that had turned my skin to stone dissipated and I could move. "Kelly, please swap us. I'm... begging." The words left my mouth before I could think about them. It was like I was a puppet and she pulled the strings. "Sure, sister, dear, just drop that spell you're using and I'll swap us." I looked down and then up at her and whispered, "I-I can't. It will last for an hour, no matter what I or you do." "You stupid, little, bitch!" she hissed. Even though I was towering over her she thought of me as the helpless little girl. "Now, I'm going to be late." She snatched my phone from my frozen fingers, "Fine, go get cleaned up, come down and get a snack from the kitchen. When the spell expires come get me, I'll be in my room. Then we'll swap. Oh, and remember," she stepped closer locking her eyes onto mine, "you've always wanted to be a girl. You can't wait to get back into a pair of silk panties and a bra. You are super excited that I'm willing to give you this sexy little body and take that gross boy body from you. Tomorrow we're going to tell Hazel and Vivian that we want to stay swapped." I nodded and then turned to move up the stairs. I felt incredibly happy that Kelly was willing to swap with me. She was always such a great person. It wasn't until the water was cascading down before I started to come out of the fugue state. 'What am I doing? I don't want to be a girl.' Yet there was another voice in the back of my mind saying that it wouldn't be so bad, to be a girl, to be Kelly. I was so pretty when I was Kelly. I had such a great figure and Mom was always so nice to me. Besides changing now would end the crazy swapping whenever Kelly wanted. It would stop and I could be a girl forever. That was the important thing. Then I remembered, water could act as a natural grounding for some types of magic spells. 'Kelly, beguiled me!' The realization made me freeze. "That bitch! She was making me want to be a girl. She had me wanting to trade lives. I was even willing to go to Vivian and Hazel. Fuck! I need to learn a charm to prevent beguilement." Then another realization hit, "Even if I do, will I be strong enough to stop her?" I finished and dried off. I returned to my room and changed before going down to the kitchen to get a snack. 'I could just sneak out,' I thought. 'Kelly's in her room using my phone to talk to Betty. I could be gone before she knows it. But that won't do much good. She'll just wait until I get home and swap us and then force me to be her.' Then I had an idea, it would probably work, but it was drastic and would piss Kelly off. I had to admit, for the first time in my life, I was scared of my sister. I hurried out to the garage and got what I needed and then set the tool on the chair next to me. Then I waited. I could feel the spirit shield growing weaker and whispered, "Spiritus Praesidium!" and immediately felt it solidify again. Even if she controlled me again, I'd bought another hour. "Okay, Kelly," Kelly announced bouncing into the kitchen and giving me an excited look. "Are you ready to get girlie? Cause this time I'm leaving you here. I've decided that I'm giving up football and quitting that stupid job of yours. I'm going to graduate and apply to become a Warden. Isn't that great?" Hearing her plans for my life sent a shiver of fear through me but I tried to hide it. "Yeah, Greg," I said playing along, pretending to be under her influence, "before we trade, we should exchange focuses." I lifted my focus and dropped it on the kitchen table. "Sure Kelly," Kelly said pulling her necklace off and laying it next to mine. "Now, let's do this!" I again felt the tingle of her magic hitting the shield, thankfully it did its job and she stepped back looking angry. "Greg! That shield was supposed to have dissipated." "Maybe, it's taking a couple of more minutes?" I said innocently. "Especially, since I re-cast it." Then I grabbed the hammer from the seat next to me, where it had been out of sight, and brought it down as quickly as I could on Kelly's topaz pendant. The stone shattered under the force of the blow and I grabbed my focus in my free hand. "Murum Aeris!" I used every bit of power I could draw to creating a wall of air between us. I wasn't sure if Kelly had filled her Manna- Well or not so I figured safety first. "NOOO! You bitch!" "Pugnus Petram!" I felt magic surge out of Kelly and her hands took on a gold-brown hue. Then she charged forward smashing them into my air shield. With the first blow I could feel it start to collapse. 'Oh, fuck, she really is strong!' "Okay, well, have fun beating the air." I taunted, and turned around and ran out the door to the garage. I hit the garage door opener and jumped into my truck. She'd either use up the power in her Well, or not. Either way in an hour or two it would be empty since Kelly lacked the skill to hold a full Well for more than an hour. Once I got home tonight, she'd barely be able to draw enough power to light a candle. Although, I didn't think she needed power, to swap us, but now even if I was only benching sixty-five pounds magically, she couldn't even pick up a ten-pound weight! As I pulled out of the driveway I saw Kelly move onto the front porch. "Greg, come back! You asshole! We need to talk." I stepped on the gas. I needed to talk to Vivian and Hazel, but for the first time in almost eight weeks, I felt free. *** Chapter 8 *** As soon as the ball was snapped I moved to my right. Gretina was known for running the triple option and I had to read my ques. I did a rapid karaoke-step and saw the Quarterback running to his left with the Tailback flowing with him in a perfect pitch position. I knew without looking that our corner was being blocked by the wideout and I turned my hips running now, cutting in close to the defensive end. 'Quick-feet' I thought, urging all the speed I could get from my body. Jake, the end, broke free of the left Tackle and lunged for the Quarterback. I dove through the "C" gap watching the Quarterback while covering the Tailback. The Quarterback didn't see me because Jake was now in his grill. He pitched the ball and I arrived at the Tailback along with the football. I lowered my shoulder-pads putting my left shoulder into his hip, 'Quick-feet' and drove through. The sound of our collision was loud enough to drown out the cheering crowd. We hit the ground together and I looked up, instinct telling me the ball would be loose. I spotted it and was moving before the Tailback even realized he'd fumbled it. The ball was bouncing wildly at the fifty and I closed on it, bending over and I hoped it would bounce just right. I managed to snag it without slowing down and then lit the jets. I was one of the fastest guys on our team and the fastest on defense. I cruised into the end zone making this my third scoop and score of the season! I turned around as my team mates rushed the end zone. We'd been up ten to three and this TD would help insure the win. "Great game, Greg!" "Thanks Coach!" I was headed to the shower and only had a towel around my hips. I was sore from the game, physically tired, but I felt fantastic. We'd won, and we'd held the highest scoring offense in our league to three points! "Hey, son, there were a couple of scouts in the stands. Auburn, FSU, and Troy State, I think you impressed them. The Troy State coach asked for your contact info and the Auburn Coach wants to talk to me after you guys leave." "Oh, wow, that's great!" "Keep playing like this and you'll make First Team All-State! Now go get cleaned up." I hurried into the shower thinking that my life was back on track. It seemed like yesterday even though it had been a few weeks ago when I'd left Kelly at our house and raced over to Vivian's place. I told her what happened and what I'd done to Kelly. Vivian had been happy that the shield had worked and appalled at Kelly's response. She'd taken me to the training realm and given me a set of exercises to do as well as new spells to learn. Then she returned to visit Kelly along with Hazel. By the time Hazel and Vivian came to get me I was happy with my progress, although I still had a pretty wimpy Manna-Well, I'd learned how to harden the air around my body and then use it to lift me into the air. I didn't go very high or fast, because I got tired pretty quickly, my Manna-Well just didn't hold enough power to really fly, but still... it was amazing to float five feet above the ground for two minutes at a time. "Greg, we had to take steps to deal with Kelly." Hazel announced without preamble. "We visited Betty and the damage she'd done to that poor girl's mind was... well, more than I was expecting." "We ended up modifying some of her memories and destroying others. I think she's going to be okay, she has no memory of having had sex. She still think's she's going to the first school dance with you, but she is no longer crushing on you. She's considering how to let you down easy at the dance." "Okay, that sounds good." Then what they'd said about Betty sunk in. "Oh, shit, I-I don't think Kelly was trying to hurt her. She's been friends with Betty for years, I think she probably just got, carried away. She's not used to how it feels, for a guy, when we get horny." "Kelly is a problem. You destroying her focus was a good thing. I'm not sure how messy it would have gotten if Vivian and I had ended up having to subdue her, magically." "She's that strong?" I was aghast at the idea that Kelly could have matched either of my mentors. "You said she used a weightlifting analogy? She was right, except that she failed to understand the power of a circle." Vivian explained. "Think of it this way, that same bar, that had 405 lbs, that Kelly was lifting, now add the four of us, Molly, Vivian, you, and me to it? The four of us only have to lift a hundred pounds each. That's something we're all capable of, and more. As part of a circle with four witches, we can match her strength. Then factor in our skill and knowledge and it wouldn't have been much of a fight." "So when I'm using the power of the circle does my Well get larger?" Hazel shook her head, "No, the spells you cast are in this case, four times easier. So you don't have to use as much power to get a far more significant result." At this I nodded so Hazel continued with what she'd been saying. "We would have one, but it was a fight I'm happy we didn't have. Without her focus she can't draw the power to fill her Well." Then she shook her head, "We had to bind her, magically speaking. She's cut off from magic until she learns her lesson and proves to us that she can be trusted." "Hazel, she's young, we need to give her another chance." Vivian noted. "You always were a soft touch, dear. Of course we'll give Kelly another chance, but she must earn it." "What about her ability to swap with me?" "It's still there, we aren't able to affect that, but your shield is working, and I should have a ring for you in two weeks. The ring has the same shield only you won't have to cast it, it'll be in effect while you wear it. You just need to charge it once every seven days." Hazel reassured me. "Besides, this is her first test. If you report to us that she swapped you or that she tried to do a swap, then she'll have failed. I've made this very clear to her." When I got home to my complete surprise Kelly apologized to me. She said that her power had gone to her head and she was very sorry. For the next four weeks life turned back to "normal." Kelly was strangely subdued, polite even, but most importantly she didn't even try to pull off another swap. In fact, it was like she was avoiding me, which was just fine, although we did go together to Vivian's for lessons. Kelly wasn't allowed to do any spells. Instead she mostly did home work and wrote papers. Hazel had her do one on the ethical use of magic and Vivian had her do another on the role of Wardens in magical communities. *** "Dude, did you see that hit Greg put on the Tailback?! I thought he'd hit him right out of his shoes!" Tony an offensive-lineman said laughing as he pulled off his pads. "Ha! That wasn't as good as the hit he got on the Quarterback in the second quarter. I think the guy forgot where he was until halfway through the fourth!" Joe replied, wrapping a towel around his waist and heading for the shower. "Good game Greg!" "Thanks coach," I said grinning and followed Joe to the showers. The water felt good and the good-natured bullshitting reminded me why winning felt even better. After a loss the atmosphere was totally different. "Four and "O," fellas we're half way through the season and cruising for the playoffs!" Tony shouted. This was homecoming week and I was looking forward to the dance. I hadn't asked anyone. The whole thing with Betty, the image of my naked body screwing her... it bothered me enough to make me want to avoid all romantic entanglements until I got to college. I didn't need anything getting between me and getting out of the small town. Although, I had to admit, I had more options now. The idea of being a powerful Warlock and using my magic as a career was interesting. Until Kelly talked about it I hadn't even considered the idea. The problem was that even with four straight weeks in my body, magically, I still looked like a witch trapped in a male body. Vivian felt sure that over time I'd adjust and become a warlock but I was still worried. I started getting dressed, a little distracted since the growth of my Manna-Well was still at the witch level. Molly and I were almost identical in terms of magical strength. We were both still a good way behind Hazel and Vivian, but Hazel assured me this was normal for a Witch to grow in strength for her first full year. Another alarming development was that I could still use the power of the circle in my male body! Learning to use the circle power had been interesting, I'd cast a spell using my manna to power it and then pull on the connection to the circle and it was like the spell got super charged. It cost far less manna and was much more effective. The problem was that men weren't supposed to be part of a circle. When I used my spell to fly and the power of the circle I found I could zip around the training hall fifteen feet up moving faster than I could run, and I had plenty of strength to spare. I really wanted to try it outside and see how fast I could go, but my veil still sucked. Vivian had warned me that until I could veil and fly I needed to be careful. If someone saw me flying, there would be lots of questions and they might even have to go adjust memories. Vivian speculated my connection to the circle, even in my male body, had something to do with the way my gift had been activated. I'd been awoken to magic in Kelly's body. Magically speaking, she was now male and I was female, regardless of the body we wore. Even with Vivian assuring me I'd change and adjust to the body I wore, I was still nervous. On the one had looking like a witch trapped in a male body hurt my ego. On the other Hazel was looking to expand the circle. She wanted a full seven. That would give us almost twice the power of an average Warlock. I just wondered where she'd find three more witches in our tiny town. "Come on, man, there's someone I want you to meet!" John my best friend, and the team Safety, shouted at me. "Yeah, who's that, your Momma?" "Oh, in your dreams my man! My momma is out of your league!" "Oh, yeah, I've seen John's momma." Tony, the left tackle joined in. "She was down at the barber shop, getting her back shaved." The guys in the room started laughing and the momma jokes flew. "Dude, your momma is so ugly, when she makes monster cookies she uses her face as the cookie cutter!" I finished tying my tie and pulled on the suitcoat, Coach had a rule about how we dressed for games. "Come on, John, let's get out of here I don't want to waste the whole night with these losers." When we got to the dance it was packed with teenagers. Being one of the bigger guys it was easy to see over their heads. The bleachers had been pulled out enough to provide a couple of rows of seats, but still left most of the room for dancing. At the far end, the school had set up a table with drinks and snacks, and around the room I spotted the presence of teachers and parents who'd volunteered to act as chaperones. "Ah, food." I pointed at the table. "Dude, are you always hungry?" "Yes. Come on, let's eat before all the sandwiches are gone." I pushed through the crowd with John in tow. "Hey, there she is, come on." John grabbed my arm forcing me to turn. "There, who is?" I asked and then saw her. The girl was tall, probably five-ten, and had the curves of a super model. Her blonde hair and tanned skin were a perfect contrast to the white cocktail dress she wore. I could see why John was interested. I was surprised that I didn't recognize her. I'd grown up in Fairview and thought I knew all the kids our age, 'She must be new,' I thought. "Hey, Violet! Violet, it's me, John. We have homeroom together." John pressed into the circle around Violet. Standing in a group of two other girls, Lisa and Chloe, both were honor students and a bit nerdy. It was like seeing a rose between dandelions. There's nothing wrong with a dandelion, it's just not a rose. "This is my buddy, Greg. Greg, my future ex-wife, Violet." Then he flashed a smile at Violet, "Just kidding. She moved here from New York!" "Hey, Lisa, Chloe, how goes it?" "Oh, hi, Greg." "Good." I turned to Violet, "The city? This must be a culture shock." "No, up state, near Buffalo." Her voice had an odd note to it, 'Must be a northerner thing.' "What brings you to this metropolis?" "You mean besides the museums, galleries, and night clubs?" I chuckled, "Yeah, besides all that?" "My dad got transferred here. The engineering company he works for opened an office down here. They're looking to expand into Alabama and this little town offered cheap land to build a new facility." "She's in the National Honor Society with us," Lisa interjected. "Smart and beautiful, I think I'm in love." John said, stepping close. "Care to dance?" "Uhm, I guess." I watched as Violet was led away and shook my head. I looked at the two girls I'd been left with. Lisa was a petite thing with only a hint of curves, but a cute face hidden by her glasses. Chloe was taller and full figured, perhaps almost chunky, but she was obviously very conscientious about her body and worked hard to cover it up. I wondered if being so smart also made her insecure. "Ladies, I need some punch and a sandwich. Care to join me?" "Sure." "I guess." I could see they were thrilled, it made me wonder if I was the first guy to pay attention to them. Well, I wasn't about to get into a romance even if they were both nice. "Come on." I offered an arm to each of them. They looked at each other, giggled, and put their arms through mine then I started walking toward the food. "Chloe, are you still in chess club? I heard something about a tournament?" "Oh, yeah, I'm the president, being a senior and the best player. There is a state-wide tournament, invitation only, and three members of our club got invited." "Really, that sounds exciting." I steered our group to the food not really listening since my stomach rumbled. By the time I'd finished my first plate the music changed to a new song and Violet appeared at Lisa's elbow. I looked around for John but didn't see him. That was odd, first because we're both well over six feet so should have been easy to spot him. Second, once he set his sights on something he was focused like a laser. It was obvious to me he'd picked Violet out as his next conquest. "Where's John?" "He wasn't feeling well. I think he needed to use the toilet." Violet gave me a strange look, "You're still here?" "Where else would I be? Lisa, Chloe and I have known each other since first grade. Chloe was telling me about the chess tournament she's in next weekend." I finished off my punch and grinned at Chloe, "It sounds like it's going to be pretty cool." "Well, you could come watch. If you want." She said it so softly I almost didn't hear her. "Next Saturday, right? When is it? I'm working at the grocery store from noon until six pm." "Oh, that's right, I forgot." Chloe mumbled. "Someone has to stock the shelves." Lisa said, "I wish my parents would let me have a job. But they say being a student is a full-time job." "Mostly, I do it for parts for my truck. The thing was a fixer-upper but it's more like a money pit." I grumbled. "Hey, I'm going for more punch, does anyone want anything?" "Do they have water?" Violet asked. "I saw some water bottles. I'll grab you one." Then I shook my head, "Right after I check on John." When I got to the men's room I noticed that it was empty except for a pair of feet under one stall. As I got closer the smell hit me. "Damn, dude, what died and crawled up your ass?" "Oh, fuck, Greg? I don't know, man, but my stomach is in knots. I must have eaten something bad." The toilet flushed, and a white faced John stumbled out. "Dude, I hate to ditch you, but I'm going home. If I stay I might shit myself." "Do you need me to give you a lift? I can't have my All-Conference Safety getting into an accident on the way home." "Actually, yeah, I'd appreciate it." "Alright, meet me at my truck. I'll be there in a minute." I hit the drink table and picked up two waters and then headed back over to the girls. They'd pretty much stayed in the same spot and looked like they were chatting amicably. "Well, ladies, this has been fun, but I need to go." "What? Why?" Lisa asked. "John is sick. I'm going to drive him home." Then I offered a water bottle to Violet, "As promised." She reached out to take the water, "Do you always keep your word?" Our fingers brushed, and I felt a spark. The signal that I'd learned from Vivian that indicated I'd just met a witch. I froze, only for an instant, and then let the bottle go. "I try." I could tell by the slight widening of her eyes that she'd felt it too. I did a questing and saw the aura around her, 'Water Witch,' I thought, 'and already trained.' "Are you sure you have to leave? I feel like I've finally found a guy worth talking to in this town." "Sorry, duty calls." I lifted my water bottle in a mock salute and turned around. I'd never met another witch and wasn't exactly sure how to react. *** "Mom, I really don't want to be stuck here all afternoon!" I glared at my mom willing her to relent. "Greg, sorry, we've invited the Frosts over after church. They're new to town and we need to show them our Southern hospitality! Besides, they have a daughter who's also a senior, and it's got to be tough moving like this, in the middle of her senior year. So, you will stay here until they leave and you'll be nice." Then she looked over at Kelly who'd been quiet during Sunday breakfast. "Are you okay, dear?" It was a question she been asking Kelly frequently lately. Ever since she'd been bound from magic Kelly had been depressed. She tried not to show it but Mom could tell. I didn't feel bad for her, not after the things she'd done, but I wasn't going to be mean either. I just avoided her as much as possible. Kelly had changed in the last four weeks. She'd quit talking to Molly and I knew she was having a tough school year so far. She even distanced herself from her normal circle of friends. I understood why she avoided Betty but she'd cut herself off from all her former friends. Her behavior had both Mom and Dad worried although they hadn't talked to me about it, yet. I was glad that Vivian and Hazel had barred her from using magic, but I suspected that once they relented Kelly's mood would change. Magic, and being a witch had become the most important thing in Kelly's life. It made me wonder how I'd act if I couldn't play football. Maybe it was time for me to ask Vivian to let her start practicing again. They could break the binding but not give her a focus. That would leave her weak but able to practice. Church was more than a little boring. The sermon left me fighting to stay awake and even when I glanced over at Kelly I could tell she was having the same issue. Although she was doing a better job hiding it. I ended up counting the minutes until we were home. I was still a little disgruntled about not getting to spend the afternoon with Molly, Vivian, and Hazel practicing magic. I ran up the stairs and changed from my church clothes into more casual shorts and a t-shirt thankful that it was so much easier getting changed in my male body than it had been in Kelly's! Although, if I was being honest, there were times I missed being a girl. Having boobs and so many outfit choices, a girl could dress to send all kinds of messages. I also missed the attention I got from everyone. Being a pretty girl had at times been a little thrilling. I'd also gotten closer to my mom during the time I'd spent as Kelly. I brushed these thoughts aside and checked to make sure my ring was on. I'd gotten it two weeks ago and only took it off for football and when showering. The ring had been made of three wires braded together into one piece. Silver for air, gold for earth, and platinum to shield, the symbolism wasn't lost on me and I was grateful to have it. I needed to talk to Vivian, today if possible. The news that we had another witch in town would be something they'd be very interested in. I couldn't wait to see the look on her face. Just then I heard the door bell and I rushed down stairs to see if I could beat Dad to it. I got there just ahead of him and he gave me a grin and gestured for me to open it. "Hi! Welcome to the Pierson residence." On the porch I saw a man who had to be in his early forties but he looked incredibly fit and was as tall as me. Next to him the lady I assumed was his wife must have been a model. Tall, blonde, wearing a blue blouse that was classy and showed just a hint of cleavage and a black skirt and pumps that made me wonder where she shopped. "Hi, we're the Frosts." The guy extended his hand, "You must be Greg. Paul told me you're a football player." I shook, and felt the callused hand of a guy who spent time at the gym and then the shock that told me he was a warlock. "Ah-y-yeah, starting linebacker." I stumbled trying to get over the shock. "If I'm lucky, I'll get a shot a playing college ball." My dad cleared his throat, "Greg, please invite our guests in." "Oh, sorry, come on in." I stepped back and to one side, I could tell by the quick flutter of a quest from Mr. Frost that he'd been surprised to find another witch. He just hid it better than me. It wasn't until I saw the third member of the family that I put two-and- two together. My mom had come in from the kitchen with Kelly in tow and my dad handled the introductions. "I'm Paul. This is my wife Mary-Jo, son Greg, and daughter Kelly." "It's good to see you again, Paul. I'm Stephen, my wife Alyssa, and daughter Violet." I nodded at Violet, "We met Friday night at the school dance." "Oh?" Alyssa asked, "You're the boy she couldn't stop talking about?" "Mom!" "Just teasing, dear." Alyssa turned to me and winked, "It's a pleasure to meet you." "Dinner is just about ready, please sit down." With that Mom hustled us into the dinning room and took Kelly by the elbow. "Come, give me a hand with the food, dear." I could tell by the look in Kelly's eye that she was pissed. I could almost hear her complain, "Why do the women have to cook and set the table while the men just get to sit around." "Do you need some help?" Alyssa asked. "Nope, we've got it, please have a seat." Our dinning room table had been built by my dad it was made of oak and very solid. The table was large enough to seat eight, even though there were only seven of us, and with an extension could have been expanded to seat twelve. For that reason we often hosted family dinners like Thanksgiving at our house. The other reason that dad had crafted such a large table was so that we could host these Sunday afternoon meals. Mom and Dad were part of the church's outreach program. That included inviting new people to the area, and church, into our home for a meal and fellowship. My mom had the whole thing down to a science. By the time we were seated Kelly had returned with a pitcher of lemonade in one hand and sweet-tea in the other. She sat them on the table and disappeared. In short order a roast with all the sides appeared and Kelly and Mom were sitting down. "Bless us our Father for these, thy gifts, we are about to receive." Dad intoned the prayer I'd heard a thousand times. Once we started passing food around I couldn't resist questing Violet. When I did my earlier observation held, Water Witch. But what I hadn't expected was for her mom to look at me and her dad to nod smoothly while commenting on the Atlanta Falcon's chances to make the playoffs this year. I felt several back to back flutters. Questing's from Violet and her parents. In response I checked them out. Alyssa was a Water Witch like her daughter and Stephen was a Water Warlock. I wondered if it was common for witches to marry warlocks with similar affinities. The conversation continued, but it was obvious that they'd checked out Mom and Dad and realized that only Kelly and I were gifted. As soon as the meal was over Violet winked at me and then turned to Dad. "Mr. Pierson, I was wondering, this is a lovely neighborhood perhaps Greg and Kelly could show me around?" She practically oozed innocent charm and I could tell she'd hooked Dad with that smile. "Sure, the exercise would do Kelly some good. She's been spending too much time inside lately." I stood up, curious to see what she wanted to talk about away from the adults. "Come on, it's a little hot, but we've got a pool in the backyard, if we get too hot we can go for a swim latter, you can borrow one of Kelly's suits." "I'm not sure it would fit," Violet said, with a quick glance at Kelly. "I'm taller." 'Yeah, but I'm not sure who's got better tits.' "Well, maybe a t- shirt and shorts?" "Let's just go for that walk, shall we?" As soon as we were outside Violet looked at me, "Your gift is Air. Can you mask our words?" I felt surprised that she'd just come out and asked me to use magic. I drew in power and whispered, "Secretum." I made a small gesture with my left hand indicating a circle and the magic sprang up around us. Anyone more than five feet from me wouldn't hear a word of our conversation. "Smooth. You've received training but not from your parents. Who are your teachers?" "What is this, an interrogation? You're a Water Witch, your dad's a warlock, your mom's a witch, are they training you?" "Yes, obviously." Then she added, "Look that came across wrong. No, this isn't an interrogation. I wasn't expecting to find anyone magically active in such a small town. Can we start over?" "Sure." Then Kelly added, "Why is your aura so bright? I can see the water element, but it's like there's a glow around you." Violet nodded, "That's because I've chosen the path of the Light." Then she gave Kelly a curious look, "It doesn't look like either you or Greg has chosen a path. You do know about the two factions within the community of witchcraft?" "Yes," I said it a little defensively. "Hazel taught us. Your parents are also of the Light?" "Of course, I can't imagine what it would be like to choose the Dark path. Particularly with my parents walking in the Light. But enough of that, to start over, I'm Violet Frost. I'm a Water Witch and I've passed my apprenticeship trials. When I turn eighteen I'll be given full witch status and I plan to go to college in Salem. It's where the best witches go. My folks moved down here because of my dad's job but not the engineering one. The Great Coven in Alabama decided that there are too many hedge witches in the rural areas. They asked for volunteers to come here and help find and train them. You two looked like perfect examples except that you've both got a focus and training." "Hazel, and her daughter, Vivian, moved here a year ago from New Orleans. Kelly became friends with Vivian, even though she's in our grade, and Vivian awoke Kelly's talent. Then this summer Kelly woke my gift by accident. Since that time we've both been studying with them." "That explains a lot. You are both new to the craft. I'd like to meet them." "That shouldn't be too hard," Kelly jumped in, "we usually go to Vivian's on Sunday afternoons." "Of course, let's drive over?" Getting permission to go over was simple. Kelly was excited for the first time in weeks and asked if we could give Violet a driving tour of town. My mom happy to see Kelly so engaged and instantly agreed, if it was okay with the Frosts. In no time we were in my truck and I was driving across town. During the drive Violet kept up a steady stream of questions about our training, all of which Kelly was too happy to answer. Not that I had a problem with it but the way Kelly was looking at Violet gave me a weird feeling. "What?" Violet demanded, and I felt a little confused. "What do you mean, training realm?" "Oh, you know, the Realm where witches take apprentices to train. I'm sure you've been hundreds of times." "No. I haven't. The artifacts that provide the Art of Travel are rare. Normally, only a Great Coven, school, academy, or college has them." "What about old families?" I asked, injecting myself into the conversation for the first time in several minutes. "Hazel is from an old family she inherited a number of artifacts." Violet nodded, "I guess that makes sense. It's just that a traveling artifact is worth millions." I felt shocked, I'd handled the Diadem, in fact, and Vivian hand insisted I learn how to use it. Of course, I'd only used the enchantment that opened the gate to the training realm and then the return gate. The other points on the crown were still a mystery to me. I had no idea that I'd been using something so valuable. "Where do you go to train?" Kelly asked. "My parents have set up our basement for training. No prying eyes and most spells can be contained with a proper circle." Then Violet added, "I'd like to try something. Watch as I fill my Manna-Well, you should be able to gauge my strength." I glanced at her, and realized, flushed with excitement, she was stunningly beautiful. "Sure." I could feel it as she drew in power and the small sapphire ring on her pinky finger glowed softly. I paid attention to the road and then I quested her. I nodded, just a hair weaker than me, but stronger than Molly by a sliver. Not as strong as either Vivian or Hazel. "Okay, I showed you mine, time to show me yours." The undercurrent of sexual innuendo was obvious. I wanted to push away from her, 'You are not getting into a romance. You are going to college and playing D1 ball!' I reminded myself. I drew power into my Well, as quickly as I could using the moonstone. I wanted to impress Violet, and I wished that the power boost I got from the circle showed up in my Well. Instead, it just boosted my power during spell-casting which made it hard to judge a Witch's strength if she were part of a circle. "Okay, you just woke this summer? That explains it! I've never seen a Warlock with such a small manna-well. I'm guessing your still growing." Then she looked at Kelly, "Can you show me yours?" At this Kelly looked angry. "I wish. I got in trouble this summer, a-and my focus was destroyed. Vivian and Hazel have bound my gift, and until I prove to them I can be responsible, they won't release the binding." "Oh, wow, what did you do?" "I'd rather not talk about it." Kelly sounded sullen and I felt bad for her. "It was mostly a misunderstanding, Kelly tried a spell that was too advanced and messed it up. No one was permanently hurt, but it didn't go well. Hazel and Vivian had to step in and clean things up. They don't approve of that sort of thing." Kelly gave me a grateful look and nodded. "My parents believe that kids should test themselves pushing the boundaries of your ability is a great way to grow." Then as if guessing the "misunderstanding" had been between us added, "There's nothing like a little competition to drive growth, as long as everyone is safe." Instead of answering I pulled into the Wright residence. "Here we are." I jumped out and looked back at Kelly and Violet. I could tell by her look the place puzzled her. I glanced at the large run-down looking house and then figured it out. If these two had an artifact worth millions, why are they living in a house that needs repairs? "It's nicer on the inside." Kelly said, "I think they like to keep it like this so the whole town doesn't start buzzing with gossip. If the neighbors knew they had money..." Kelly shrugged, "Everyone in a small town is all up in each other's business." Before we made it to the front porch the door slammed open and Hazel stepped out followed by Vivian, they were both holding wands and I could feel the magic crackle around them. "Greg, why have you brought this person to our house?" Hazel's question froze me in my tracks. I looked at Violet and felt shocked. Her hair had started to lift like it was full of static electricity and her eyes had taken on an odd blue color. From her purse she'd pulled a bracelet and slid it onto her slim wrist. "You didn't tell me your mentors consort with the Dark." "Uhm, is that important?" I felt like my mind was moving way too slowly. "Yes, Greg." Hazel said. Her voice was level but I could feel the intensity in it. "I told you, those of the Light and Dark don't get along." She gave Violet a level stare. "You will leave and not return to this property unless invited by me, or my daughter" she gestured at Vivian. "Are we clear?" "Like I'd want to spend time at this dump? If I'd have known low life's like you lived here I'd have told Greg not to bring me." "You are young, so I'll forgive your insolence, today." She looked at me, "Greg, take her home and then return. We need to talk." I started to nod when I felt Violet's cool hand touch my forearm. "Are you sure you have the power to back that up?" Vivian who'd stayed quiet now moved forward until she was standing next to Hazel. I remembered that Vivian, when she'd been Alexander, had served as a Warden. She lifted her wand but didn't point it at Violet, "Cast that spell and what happens next will be considered justified by the Wardens." Violet gave my arm a squeeze and stepped back, "Come on, Greg, Kelly, I want to leave." From her tone it was like she'd just decided it was time to go, rather than having been ordered to leave. I got back into my truck and fired it up. Once Kelly and Violet were in I put it in gear and headed home. *** Chapter 9 *** "Where's Kelly?" I had just picked up Molly and we were headed over to Vivian's house. "She said that there wasn't much point going to a magic lesson, if she wasn't allowed to touch magic." "She hasn't been with us for a lesson in weeks. I'm worried." I shrugged, "Yeah, so is my mom. Kelly's been depressed, when she turned seventeen Mom wanted to throw a big party but Kelly hated the idea and shot it down. She retook and passed her driving test so Dad offered to buy her a fixer-upper, but she didn't want it." I glanced at Molly, "She does have a point. Coming for a magic lesson and not getting to use magic would suck. Besides, she's been hanging out with Violet lately." "I know, I've seen them in school talking." Then in a worried tone, "I know that Vivian's seen them too." Life had settled into a new dynamic lately. I felt torn, I'd always hung out with Molly but this year's success had brought the team together like never before. We'd won two more games and were cruising to an 8-0 record! Only Montrose, our most bitter rival, also undefeated, stood between us and the playoffs. The team was super excited and the whole school was behind us. I'd never felt particularly popular but it was like I couldn't go anywhere in our little town without someone saying, "Good game" or wanting to ask me where I'd be going next year. The word had also gotten out scholarship offers had started coming in; Alabama, FSU, Auburn, LSU, Tennessee and even Ohio State, although I had no intention of going so far north. I wasn't an Honor Society student but my grades were above average. It wasn't until a week ago my guidance counselor told me that I had enough credits to graduate in December if I wanted too. I could enroll early in a college and get a jump on the other freshmen by getting into winter conditioning and spring ball. I'd talked to my parents and my dad was all in, even if Mom was skeptical. I hadn't made up my mind but I'd filled out the paperwork and sent it in to Auburn. So far, only my parents knew, but I planned to attend Auburn. They had a good engineering program as well as football. I didn't know if I'd make it into the league so getting an education was important to me. Then there was magic. The lessons had settled into Wednesday nights, and Sunday afternoons. I knew that Molly was hanging out with Vivian almost everyday after school. I tried to sit with them at lunch and only managed it about once a week. Vivian seemed amused at my sudden popularity and all the girls that now took interest in me. It felt like they were just looking for a way out of our small town and saw me as the ticket. When I'd talked to her about it today at lunch she'd laughed, "Greg, magic is amazing, and you can devote your life to the community, but it doesn't pay that well. Most people need mundane jobs in order to pay the bills. Going to school and getting a degree is as important as anything we'll teach you." "Can't you just use magic to, you know, get ahead?" Molly asked. Vivian shook her head, "I think I need to have you write a paper on the ethical use of magic." At this all three of us laughed. "The Coven has a few paid positions but unless you intend to be a Warden or run for office, you won't get a check." After that the bell rang and we had to hurry to class. Now, driving over to Vivian's I glanced at Molly. "Hey, have you figured out what you're going to do next year?" "Not really. I'd like to go to school but we can't afford it. I was thinking about getting a job waiting tables at the dinner in town and doing some online classes. That way I can keep on studying magic and work on a degree." "Yeah, the part about leaving that bothers me is, leaving Vivian and Hazel. I want to keep on studying." "Have you talked to them about, getting training at Auburn?" "Ha! What makes you think I'll go there?" "Oh, please, you've wanted to shout War Eagle, since you were ten." "You know me too well. No, I haven't talked to them. I assumed we'd figure out a way for me to come back occasionally for a lesson." Then I had to admit what was really bothering me, "I'm sure every other witch I meet will think I'm a freak. I'm a man, and I'm bound into a witch's circle. My magic comes from the feminine side of the craft..." "That just makes you the coolest guy, ever!" Molly said, imitating an air-head. "Ha-ha! You're so funny." I scratched the scruffy beard I'd started to work on. 'Damn thing is itchy' "Why do you think Vivian asked us to wear hiking clothes?" "Maybe we'll get to explore the Realm a little more." Then I felt a tingle at the back of my neck. I looked in the mirror and saw a sedan several car lengths behind us. "Did you feel that?" Molly asked. "Uh, yeah, what was it?" "I-I'm not sure, it reminds me of a questing, but it's different. I've felt it before, at school mostly." "Me too." After that we were both quiet until I pulled into the driveway and shut the truck down. "Do you think Kelly will come back?" I looked over at Molly, "Not until Vivian and Hazel relent." Then I added, "She's spending so much time with Violet, she's over at her house almost every night." Then I shrugged, "She seems like she's doing better, lately. Maybe she's given up on becoming a witch." "Have you ever known your sister to give up on something she wants?" At that I laughed, and climbed out of the truck. Vivian was waiting for us and handed Molly the Diadem. "You know how to take us to the training Realm. Now it's time to go exploring. We've kept you two in our training hall. Yet the Realm is an entire world. We're going to go to the surface today." Just then Hazel came in wearing hiking boots, jeans, and a work shirt. "Are you two ready to stretch your abilities with Air?" She handed Vivian a backpack, "Our training hall is too small to really test out your powers with Air. Fortunately our training hall is in a remote location." "Remote, I thought it was uninhabitable?" "Only if you want to have kids and it takes time and a lot of exposure before that happens. For some people retiring from this world to a simpler place is attractive. Plus magic is more plentiful and we don't have to hide what we are there. Someday, I'll take you two to one of the towns. There are places to go escape for a week or two and then return here before the Realm has a chance to leave its mark on you. As I was saying, our Hall is in a remote location, which is good, since you're both Air Witches and need space to really stretch yourselves." Vivian nodded and gestured to Molly. She touched the topaz and a moment later the golden gate had opened. The sand of the training hall was something I was now familiar with. I stepped through the portal and then waited for everyone else. Once we were all there I followed Vivian as she lead us to the tunnel that would take us to the surface. The tunnel was like the others with crystals that lit up as we approached but it went on and on. 'How far under the surface are we?' The tunnel started a gradual turn to the left and the incline became steeper. Ten minutes later I could see a door at the far end. It looked like a French door without any glass. Instead it was made of oak and iron and had a wooden bar dropped into a set of brackets baring it from the inside. "What's that for?" Molly pointed to the bar. "There are a number of beings that visit this Realm and a few natural predators. Most of the rational beings have peaceful intentions, but not all. Also, we have valuables here and we only visit for a few hours per week." "Shall I?" I asked and moved forward to lift the heavy bar from where it rested. I enjoyed the opportunity to show off my strength since the oak bar weighed at least a hundred pounds. Once I sat it to one side Hazel stepped forward and chanted something I couldn't hear. I felt her spell and a set of glyphs I'd not noticed itched into the doors flashed and then faded to invisibility. Hazel threw the doors open and we followed her into the sunlight. I discovered I was looking down into a mountain meadow. Grass and moss covered the ground and in the distance, I saw a few trees, but standing above it all were the peaks of snow-capped mountains. Our door had been set into the side of a cliff that rose several hundred feet above us. "The spell you felt on the doors is one of concealment. With the door bared and the enchantment active anyone looking at that cliff would just see rock. It would take a very powerful person to pierce the enchantment." I glanced at Molly and noticed she looked as impressed as me. "Now then." Vivian said taking charge. "This is a good place to practice." Vivian dropped the backpack to one side. Then she lifted a hand and pointed off in the distance at a cliff wall. "Hastam Ignis!" A bar of fire exploded from her hand and rocketed up into the air and toward the far wall. It was as thick as my wrist and white hot, yet it burned out before it had traveled half the distance. Hazel giggled, "You were always such a show off!" Then she made a gesture, "Movere Caligo." Mist poured out of her hand and rolled down into the meadow. Before it had gone more than five feet she made another gesture, "Frigus!" Abruptly, the mist froze in place and turned white and then fell like snow onto the now frozen grass. "Uhm, wow." I said. "Yeah, no kidding. Are you going to teach us battle magic?" "Not yet, there's time for that. We just wanted to show why it's nice to have a little room sometimes." Vivian said. "Room, without the chance of mundane humans finding us." Hazel looked at me, "Okay, Greg, Molly, let's see you two fly." I drew all the power I could into my manna-well, "Aura Cutem!" I felt the air around my body harden. It would protect me if I ever got up to a significant speed, but more importantly, I could move the hardened air with my mind. Allowing me to lift myself into the air, the other benefit was that since I controlled the second-skin of air with my mind it moved along with my body perfectly. Vivian had told me there was a combat version of this spell, but it was harder to do and used up more power. I willed myself into the air and was soon hoovering ten feet up. In a moment Molly joined me. Then with a laugh I took off trying to zoom as fast as I could across the meadow. I looked back at Molly, "Hey, Mols, race you to that cliff and back!" "You're on!" I pushed out a burst of speed and felt giddy as I shot over the meadow. Flying was freedom! The spike of adrenaline caused me to push even harder, pouring on more and more speed. I looked back and saw I'd left Molly several hundred feet behind me and she was falling even further back. "Oh, yeah, I've got this!" I crossed a small stream that bisected the narrow valley before I noticed power draining from my manna-well. I tried to draw on the circle, to ease the drain, while pulling manna into my manna-well from my focus. It was like chewing gum, texting, and driving all at once. I'd been practicing so finding a way to balance all of this was the key. I started to slow down to ease back on the drain. It wasn't enough, and I was almost out of manna, running out of power would end the spell, and it was a long fall! I stopped and hovered, I could gradually feel manna building in my well, but I still had to burn some of it to maintain the spell. I slowly eased into forward flight, still trying to restore as much energy as I could. By the time I got to the three-quarters point Molly caught me. "Slow poke!" "How are you doing that?" Molly hadn't stopped to re-fill her well. Then it hit me, instead of flying in short bursts of speed, she'd figured out a way to balance the energy drain from flying with the rate she replenished her power. I pushed and drew in power, trying to feel for the balance point. Molly made it to the cliff and pretending to be a swimmer at the wall she did a flip and kicked off with her feet shooting back past me. "Bu-ya! No way are you catching me!" I copied her move and laughed, the sheer joy of flying was amazing. Then I tried to press ahead, I managed to close the distance landing by Vivian only a few seconds after Molly. "Well done you two." Hazel said. "Now, do it again, but veil the whole way." I groused, "I hate veiling." "If you ever want to fly someplace in our Realm, you need to veil. We can't risk being seen." "I know, I know. Aura Cutem." I floated a few feet off the ground, 'now the hard part,' I thought. "Celantur!" The magic was supposed to hide me from three of the five senses, sight, sound, and scent. If I remained motionless it worked fine. When I moved it tended to flicker slightly, like heat waves over hot concrete on a summer day. The power drain to my well was minimal, when I leaned on the circle. The problem was that I now had to balance two spells, manage the power in my Well, while drawing power from my focus and strength from the circle. 'Here goes nothing.' I started to move and felt the drain of flying on my manna-well and the drain from the veil. I didn't even try for speed, just holding two active spells and balancing the drain was more than hard enough. Molly beat me out to the wall and back, again. "Very good! Both of you." Hazel said. "Molly, I counted six times where you dropped the veil. I think you were trying to go fast and lost focus." Then she looked at me, "Greg, you only lost it twice and both were on the way out. Well, done." "I think you two need a break." Vivian motioned to the blanket she'd spread on the grass. There were water bottles and sandwiches laid out. We all sat down, and I dug into the food while Molly opened a bottle. "What did you learn from that little exercise?" Hazel asked. "Not to burn up all of my power in one sprint." After a moment, Molly added, "That the strength of your Well isn't the only important factor. How much you can draw counts. I've practiced more than Greg, I can draw manna more quickly, but my well can't hold as much." "Good. Yes, for maintaining a spell, or maintaining multiple spells, skill, focus, and the amount you can draw is more important than the pool of manna. This is a lesson that every Witch understands and most Warlocks never really learn. They have so much depth to their Well that they assume they can win any contest on a single burst of power." Hazel drank some water and continued, "Also, the more witches we add to the circle, the easier the spell-craft becomes. It's like instead of one person lifting a chair you'd have five. The same amount of magic is required but we all contribute to each other's strength. With another witch in the circle you both would have been able to fly out and back faster and you would have used less of what you draw from your focus and more from the circle." "Hazel, I saw how you and Vivian reacted to Violet the other day. I've never seen you two so angry. I know there's a feud, but what's it all about? What's the difference between the Light and Dark?" Hazel looked at Vivian, "Do you want to take this one?" Vivian nodded, "The feud goes back hundreds of years, and is more complicated than what I want to go into today. Consider, darkness represents the void, the absence of light, while white light represents energy and structure, every color of light is present in white light." I nodded and took a drink. "Okay, that makes sense." "The dark has also come to represent chaos or less structure and more individual freedom. Those who choose the Dark tend to be people who want less structure, less interference from the covens, and less government. Those that pick the Light adhere to a ridged code of conduct, not based on ethics but laws passed by the Great Coven. They prefer the safety net of structure and are happy to give up freedom for that safety. Simply put, Dark covens don't have a lot of rules." "In all fairness," Hazel jumped in, "both the Light and Dark covens provide structure. The Light takes it a lot further. They give members benefits and they tax them. They tell them how to live and what to do and what not to do. Any action take might be okay as long as the coven has sanctioned it." "Yes, in the Dark your circle and the members are on their own. No taxes, fewer rules, but no benefits. You stand or fail mostly on your own." Then before Hazel could jump in, "There are exceptions. There are Dark Wardens, who investigate crime, we are not lawless." "One of the most important jobs of the Dark coven is to protect members from the covens of Light. Given a chance the Light would consume us all and force everyone to adhere to their form of governance." "Did the Alabama Great Coven call for help finding hedge witches?" I asked. "Who told you that?" Vivian gave me a sharp look. "Violet said that's why her family got sent down to Fairview." Hazel and Vivian exchanged a worried look. "It sounds like the Light is gearing up for another campaign." Vivian looked at me, "I don't know, but typically, the Great Coven doesn't call for help from another Great Coven. It's a matter of pride. The Alabama Great Coven meets once a year for no more than thirty days and it deals with large issues that affect all the witches within the state. The local covens, Light and Dark, meet more frequently and deal with local issues." "We probably need to report this." Vivian stood up, "Agreed. I think our training session is over for today." "Before we return," Molly asked, "How do I join the Dark side?" Then we both started laughing. "Like, I've never heard that one before." Vivian giggled. "Easy enough, it's just intent and then registration. You choose the path and then if you want I can register your names with the local Dark coven. Greg you and Molly are seventeen and will soon be elidable for the trials." "The trials?" I asked. "It's a series of written tests and a demonstration of magical arts. You pass it and you're admitted as a full member. Until you pass the trials, you'll be considered apprentices with limited participation rights. You don't get to vote in the local Dark coven elections or referendums. If you both work hard I can have you ready by summer." Hazel said. *** "Hey, Greg, wait up." I looked around and spotted Violet. Football practice was over, and I was getting ready to drive home. Thursday's practice was mostly just conditioning and walking through the plays, no hitting, so an easy day. Tomorrow was the big game and coach didn't want anyone getting hurt. Last one of the regular season and it was against Montrose. We were both undefeated and I was pumped up and ready. The season had been great and if we won we'd be in the playoffs. A quarter-final, semi-final, and then a championship game and we might be bringing Fairview its first state title in over thirty years! On top of that, I'd just been admitted to Auburn, I'd be starting school there in January. Hazel had contacted a friend, Jennifer Lightfoot, a member of the local Dark coven and they'd assured me that I'd be able to continue magical training. Hazel even said that she could use the Diadem to travel to Auburn and then the training Realm. That way they could continue to teach me as well. I felt like my life was under control after the chaos of the summer and my goals and dreams were about to become a reality. "What's up?" I noticed that Violet was wearing a tight, micro- leather skirt, stockings and fuck-me-pumps and her top was a low cut spaghetti strap thing that gave me a great view of her tits. The whole outfit screamed tramp. A look that was out of character for Violet Frost. It made me wonder if she was on the prowl? "I've been talking to your brother and he told me and my family everything." I always liked the blunt way Violet got to the point. "Brother? What are you talking about? I've only got a sister and what do you mean everything?" I couldn't help grinning like an idiot and looking down at her amazing boobs as she came to a stop about a foot from me. Violet gestured back at the expensive sedan parked halfway across the parking-lot from me. "That Kelly is really Greg. We tested it with an in-depth questing, he's really the warlock and you're a witch! He told us how the two of you used to swap bodies all the time, which I admit is a little weird, until Vivian and Hazel got pissed and destroyed his focus and locked him into your body." "That's not how that happened." I tossed my gym bag into the back of the truck. I turned around and leaned back against the side of the truck to get a little distance between us. I looked down at Violet and felt startled that she'd moved closer to me. I could almost feel the heat between our bodies. "Kelly, caused this problem. She needs to go talk to Vivian and Hazel. I'm sure they'll release the binding and start teaching her again." "Like she needs the trust of a couple of Dark Witches? Besides, my dad has agreed to take him on as an apprentice warlock. They've already signed the pact. Kelly doesn't need training from those dark witches. Where's your ring?" I felt stunned at the news. Kelly was getting lessons from Stephen Frost?! "How can she do that? She's bound from doing magic. Besides, she's part of Hazel's circle." "Ha! Don't you understand? A warlock can't be part of a circle. You're part of that Dark circle I could tell from the last time I quested you. That's one of the reasons I know you're really Kelly. You don't have to go over to the Dark, as has Molly." Violet reached out and took both of my hands lifting them up. "My father broke the binding and helped Greg pick a new focus." I felt stunned. "He did what?" "You don't have your ring." I glanced down at my hand, still trying to process the news. Kelly's binding was broken? When did that happen? I didn't really like jewelry and coach wouldn't let players wear jewelry during practice. I normally left the ring and my necklace in the truck glove box for safety. "No, can't wear jewelry during practice or games. Why?" "No reason," suddenly, Violet stepped up close, grabbed my face with both hands and kissed me. I felt a shock run through my body, her lips felt soft and tasted like strawberries and summer afternoons. I put my hands on her shoulders to push her away, and felt her warm heat and soft skin under my hands. My body started responding. Violet was sexy as hell and I could feel every curve as she pressed her body into mine. Abruptly, I felt a tingling sensation I'd not felt in months. I tried to pull back and draw on my manna and speak the word that would generate the spirit shield. Violet tightened her grip on my head and pressed her mouth tightly into mine. Then I felt the twisting sensation, vertigo, and my point of view snapped around. I was looking across the parking lot, from the passenger seat of Violet's Lexus at Violet and my body kissing! My body ran its hands down Violet's back and grabbed a double handful of her soft ass and the kissing became more passionate. I pushed the door open and felt the odd weight of breasts moving on my chest. 'Are these things bigger?' I didn't need to look to know I was back in Kelly's body. I left the door open as I stumbled through the parking lot. Kelly had picked her outfit on purpose. A micro-skirt, matching halter top, fishnet stockings, and four-inch platform boots! The tight clothes and awkward boots made it hard for me to run. It had been two months since I'd been in Kelly's body and I was out of practice running in heels. Kelly pulled back from Violet, gave me a look, and laughed, "Come on Violet, we have errands to run! Oh, but first, can I have my focus?" Violet reached into her purse and pulled out a ring with a topaz and slid it onto Kelly's pinky finger. I was close enough to see it glow for a moment in the late afternoon light. "Greg!" I shouted, and was suddenly pissed that I still had to call her by my name. "Wait one damn minute!" I was now only ten feet away and still struggling to make my body move properly. "See ya at home, Kelly!" Before I could get there they'd both jumped into my truck and sped off. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" I screamed. It was loud enough that I got a few odd looks from the kids leaving school "Yo, Kelly," John shouted, "are you okay? No one messes with my bro's little sister." I wanted to punch him but just shook my head, "I'm fine, I need to call Molly!" I hurried back to Violets car, thankful that I'd left the door open in my haste to get to my body stealing sister and seized Kelly's purse from the floor. "Please be there." I felt a bit of relief when I spotted Kelly's phone. After a couple of rings Molly picked up. "Hey, Kelly, it's been a long time. What's up?" "It's moonstone. There's been a grand theft-corpus!" "Oh, shit. Are you okay?" "No, I'm stuck in the school parking lot. Greg took off with Violet in my truck. Can you come get me?" *** Chapter 10 *** It felt like forever before Molly showed up. I was on the verge of tears, tears of rage and frustration. I couldn't believe she'd done it again! And to make it even worse she'd fed Violet and her family some line of bull-shit about being the true male and being forced by Vivian and Hazel to live in a female body. "Hey, Kelly-er-Greg, get in." Molly had gotten her mom's car and I climbed into the passenger seat. "I swung by your house on my way, I didn't see your truck." "Let's drive over to the Frost's house. Greg has been hanging out there all year." "You'll have to give me directions. I've never been there." "No problem, take a left and then a right on Main." It took about ten minutes to get to Violet's place and at my request Molly just drove by. Parked on the street next to an expensive looking two- story house with a three-car garage, was my truck! "Just keep going," then I pointed, "park over there. I'll walk back." "What are you going to do?" "I'm getting my focus, and the ring. Then I'm going to confront Greg. He can't get away with this." "Greg," Molly clutched my arm, "Is it smart to confront her while she's in that house? "What should I do?" "Get your stuff from the truck and then let's go talk to Vivian and Hazel. There has to be something they can do." I pulled my arm away, "I agree, we should talk to them, but right now, I need to talk to my brother." I got out of the car and hurried up the street. Molly called after me, but I ignored her. As I walked I became intensely aware of my body, from hips to breasts, 'Are they larger? Can boobs go up a size in just two months?' Everything felt wrong, yet, familiar. I got to my Ford truck and punched in the code that unlocked the driver's door. I hit the unlock button and went around to the passenger's side and dug into the glove box. Kelly and Violet hadn't bothered to look for my focus or the ring, because they were both right where I'd left them. I let out a sigh, and put my focus on and then after a moment added the ring. "Probably, better to know and agree to the change back than have her do it randomly." I looked at the house, I'd been by here a couple of times to pick Kelly up or drop her off, but I'd never been inside. Molly had a point. It might be better to talk to Vivian and Haze or to wait and confront Kelly at home. I walked up the driveway and rather than ring the bell, tried to open the front door. As soon as I touched the handle I felt the wards and the knob wouldn't turn. 'Okay, it's locked and warded. I just can't cast a spell to unlock it.' After pausing to think I whispered, "Celantur." The veil came up concealing me from three of the five senses. I stepped off the porch planning to peek in through the windows. 'Damn it!' I got to the first window and realized that in my sister's tiny body I wasn't tall enough to look inside. "Aura Cutem." I felt the air tighten around my body, squishing me in places I didn't want to be reminded I now had. I willed myself into the air. I immediately noticed it took a lot less energy to fly in Kelly's body. At six-two and over two hundred pounds my body was twice as heavy as Kelly's. The living room was empty, so I made my way around the house looking into every window on the ground floor. I didn't see anyone. I moved up to the second floor. The first window showed an empty master bedroom. Then I found the guest room, again no luck. 'Maybe they're in the basement? Violet said that's where they practice magic.' I floated to the next room and when I looked in my heart skipped a beat. It was Violet's bedroom and they were both on the bed, kissing! What made it worse was that Kelly already had her shirt off and Violet was running her hands over my sister's muscular chest. Then she sat up and pulled her shirt off. They kissed and Kelly reached behind Violet's back and with a quick twist unhooked her bra. Violet moaned and lay back as Kelly worshiped her boobs with her mouth and hands. I wanted to lash out, to smash the window in and force Kelly to swap us. I filled my manna-well and considered using Aer Malleo, the spell would create a hammer of hardened air that I could use to smash into the house. Then I remembered the ward and that the Frosts were all witches - witches of the Light. If an apprentice Dark witch smashed through their wards and into their house... I was pretty sure I'd be in trouble. I looked into the room one more time and felt my face flush. Kelly was down to my boxers and Violet was completely naked. 'Wow, she's a natural blonde,' I noted in a disconnected way. I felt mesmerized by the scene that unfolded as Kelly stood up and discarded my boxers. My nine-inch cock was standing at attention! Violet stood up, and I could see her giggle as she moved toward Kelly. She pressed her luscious breasts into my sculpted chest and tilted her head up for a kiss while using one hand to stroke my man-muscle. Kelly kissed her, hard! Then Kelly lifted Violet up, like she didn't weigh a thing, and carried her to the bed. Using her hands Kelly pushed Violet's creamy thighs apart. I could see the bright pink skin of Violet's sex, moist and eager, as Kelly guided her one-eyed monster into position. I couldn't watch any longer. I pushed away from the house and flew down the street. I could see Molly waiting in the car below me but I didn't want to talk. I flew home, tears leaking from my eyes and then drying on my cheeks. 'How can my own sister do this to me? She lied and convinced the Frosts that she was really Greg. Then she used my body to seduce Violet! There is no way Violet is ever going to believe that I'm really Greg!' I landed in the backyard, felt the heel of my right boot sink into the soft grass, and lost my balance and fell over twisting my ankle. "Great, just fucking great!" I pulled off the offending foot gear and rubbed my sore ankle. Standing up in that stupid short skirt was harder than I thought, and I couldn't put all my weight on my right foot. Cursing, carrying Kelly's purse and shoes, I limped up to the back porch and sat down on the steps to text Molly. Kelly: Mols, it's me. I flew home. Sorry about ditching you. Then I hobbled up to Kelly's room. There was no point in going to my room, it would just confuse my parents. Luckily, they weren't home. Thursday nights they had "small group" bible study. I tossed Kelly's stupid boots to one side and then wiggled out of the skirt and practically ripped the fishnet hose off. I tossed the top toward the dirty clothes bin and turned around. I looked at my reflection in the mirror attached to the back of the bedroom door. Standing there in a skin toned pushup bra and black lace panties my sister's image was stunning. 'Where did the baby fat go and when did she get such great tits?' I wondered. Amazed I turned to see my new profile. I could see hip bones, ab-muscles, and ribs just below my new cleavage. I looked closer noticing Kelly's moles were gone, her skin was smooth, pale, and flawless. Even her legs looked sculpted. I knew Kelly had been working out lately, trying to shed the last of her baby fat and it looked like she'd been successful. More than normal, 'Did she use magic?' I tried to get rid of these thoughts evaluating Kelly's body wasn't productive. I had hoped to never look into a mirror and see that image again. It took a couple of tries to unhook the bra and the feeling of my boobs bouncing free was a feminine sensation that made me want to scream. I went to Kelly's dresser and found one of the sports bras I had gotten used to wearing last summer and tried to put it on. "Fuck! This thing is too small." I had to dig but I found a black Adidas sport bra still in the packaging. I got it out and felt relieved that the zipper was in front and that it fit. I dug through Kelly's clothes until I found a set of pink sweat pants with Cheer written across the back in large white letters. I then found a t-shirt I'd used last summer and when I put it on I gasped at how tight it was. "Damn, did she get bigger naturally or did she do this by magic just to stick me in her body with bigger boobs?!" I threw myself onto my bed and let the tears flow. Just when I had my life under control, Kelly did it again! The image of Kelly, in my body, kissing and caressing Violet floated into my mind and I felt my nipples get hard. How could she do that? I replayed the scene in my mind wondering what it would be like to push my cock into Violet's sweet pussy. To have my hot-hard-cock engulfed by her moist heat. I started rubbing my tits with one hand and even through the shirt and bra it felt amazing. I reached between my legs with the other hand slipping it under the waist band of my sweat pants to feel my silk covered sex. I'd never masturbated in Kelly's body. In fact I'd worked hard to avoid seeing it naked unless I had to. I felt more tears run down my cheeks as I slowly rubbed the soft place where my cock should have been. I could feel an achy-empty feeling inside, totally different from what I normally felt. Then I wondered what it would be like to be penetrated. To have something filling my emptiness, to scratch the itch that I could feel, just inside and above my pussy. "Greg?" The soft knock and the use of my name was enough to pull me up from the pit of depression I'd fallen into. "Can I come in?" I froze, 'What the hell am I doing? Kelly just switched us, she's having sex and I'm about to masturbate!' Then I felt it, a small sensation in the back of my mind, a buzzing that told me there was a spell at work. "Scutum Cerebri." The spell broke the beguilement that Kelly must have placed on her body before swapping and it was like I'd just taken a cold shower. The sensations of arousal were gone, and I could think clearly. "That bitch!" I jerked my hands away from my unwanted female parts. "She must have jacked up my libido just to distract me while she ran off with Violet." I wiped my eyes with the back of my tiny female hands and then took a deep breath. "Sure." Molly opened the door, she took one look at me and rushed into the room and wrapped her arms around me. "I'm sooo sorry. What happened?" I felt my emotional dam break and wrapped my arms around my friend. "I-I couldn't get into the house. It was locked and warded. S-So I v-veiled and flew around looking into the windows. I-I s-saw G-Greg and Violet. They were fucking!" I wanted to rage. I hated the way my voice sounded, broken and feminine. I hated the way my emotions got out of control and how my body responded, but most of all I hated the look of pity on Molly's face. "I'm so sorry, Greg." Then she made up her mind. "Come on. We're going to see Hazel and Vivian, there has to be something we can do!" "Fine, I guess it's better than sitting around here feeling sorry for myself." I found Kelly's cross trainers and after putting them on. I followed Molly down to her car and got in. "You know, we could fly over." Molly backed out of the driveway and gave me a look, "Sure, but it's hard to talk and fly, besides I want to keep an eye on you." She didn't have to add that I wasn't very stable at the moment and if I lost focus while flying... crashing would suck. Even if it was Kelly's body that would take the damage. I didn't have much to say on the drive over. It was fully dark now and staring out the passenger side window caught me off guard when I saw Kelly's reflection. 'Damn, damn, damn,' I cursed silently. 'I hope Vivian and Hazel can fix this.' Molly parked the car and I struggled to force my girl body out without bouncing and giggling. I came around the side of the car and saw a Lexus GS F sitting in the driveway and froze. "Who's driving a ninety-thousand-dollar car around here?" "I'll give you one guess." Molly hurried up the steps. For the first time neither Vivian nor Hazel met us at the door. We'd been given the key to the house ward and I lifted my hand twisting my fingers the way Vivian had instructed and spoke the key. The wards parted, and Molly stepped in front of me and opened the door. We both hurried into the entry room and I could hear a loud male voice talking. "Greg is now my apprentice he freely and of his own will signed a pact with me. Furthermore, I'll remind you to honor the covenant." "The person you're calling Greg is really Kelly. She's tricked you. The reason we bound her from magic was because she used beguilement to hurt a friend as well as abusing her ability to swap bodies with Greg." Vivian's voice was just as loud as Stephan Frosts. "I'll thank you to mind your tongue when addressing your elders, Vivian Wright. It doesn't matter who you used to be, you're a seventeen year old girl, and even if they give you credit for the trials, you won't be a full witch until you turn eighteen. Therefore, by the laws, you have no say in this matter." "I have a say." Hazel's voice was much quieter, and Molly and I exchanged a look before we moved closer to the doorway to the living room. Then as if on silent command we stopped. "Everything that Vivian has said is true." "Bah! I've consulted the histories and I've talked to elder Warlocks. We all agree, the person with the Warlock ability is the male. Yes, body-swap spells are well known and unethical. Everyone knows, the longer you spend in the wrong gender's body the more your magical ability adjusts until you are aligned with the body you wear. However, in the two months I've known Greg his ability never adjusted. He's as much a warlock today as he was eight weeks ago. That tells me his will is strong and he refused to accept the female body you forced onto him." "He is my apprentice. I will train him as I see fit." "Did he swear a pact with you? He swore an oath to me and bound himself to me and the Light in exchange for apprenticeship. If he'd taken an oath to you then the new pact wouldn't have worked." "You know in the Dark we don't bind our apprentices. They are free to come or go." "Ha! By your own admission you've no claim to him. In the Light we honor the law. He's mine for the next seven years. Keep away from him and everything will be fine." I couldn't hold back any longer and moved into the room, "You can't do that! Gre-er-K-Kelly is wearing my body!" I had to struggle to get the words out. The agreement seemed to be weakening but was still in effect. However, I was so angry that I'd actually been able use Kelly's name. Stephen and Alyssa Frost stood up from the sofa where they'd been sitting and turned to look at me. Hazel and Vivian also got up and Vivian moved a half step toward us, a protective gesture I appreciated. I had to swallow hard, suddenly; they both looked much taller, older, and very powerful. Alyssa gave me her thousand-watt model smile, "Ah, Kelly, so good to see you in your proper body. I'm sure you're much more comfortable. Do you like the changes Greg asked us to help you with? I have a few beauty spells that were handed down by my grandmother. Known only to a few Water Witches and very effective. Think of it as a gift for everything these Dark witches put you through. Also please know there is always a place for two such talented apprentices in my circle." Then she smiled down at Molly and me, "It really does pay for a girl to look her best. Molly if you're interested in a treatment, I'd be happy to help you." I felt more than a little confused, "Beauty spells?" "No thank you, Mrs. Frost. I'm fine." Molly added. "Too bad, let me know if you change your mind." Then she looked at me, "Don't fret dear, the spells are permanent. Did you know that 60% of your body is made of water? That gives a powerful Water Witch plenty of material to play with." As she said this she turned to look at Hazel and Vivian. I shivered at the implied threat and opened my mouth but Hazel spoke first. "I'm thoroughly versed on water magic. As a reminder, I still hold the rank of Water Master, by the New Orleans Dark Coven." "If there is nothing else, please, leave." Vivian's voice was cold, but polite. "Actually, there is another matter. Violet tells me that you inherited Hazel's property when you assumed her identity. I've been in communication with the Coven of Light in New Orleans and the events are a matter of record. Agreed to by both covens but there was no discussion about property." "What are you getting at?" Hazel asked. "Only that you got to keep Alexander and Abigail's property, granted the house and shop were a loss. Although, there were bank accounts and I do believe you received an insurance payment. In addition to that you assumed the identities of two witches of the Light and all their property. I've checked and the property wasn't part of the agreement." "We were attacked. Our business and house were destroyed. We lost our identities. When the Covens agreed we should assume the lives and identities of these two the property was implied. How do I become Hazel, and not take her driver's license, social security number, wardrobe, and bank account?" "No one will quibble about mundane properties. I'm sure we can all agree." Stephen said and gestured magnanimously. "There were a number of artifacts, held by the Wright family for generations. These items are magical and as such should have reverted to the New Orleans Coven of Light. I've been empowered to take custody of them and hold them entrust until such time as all claims are settled." "What are you a lawyer?" The word slipped out of my mouth before I had a chance to think. Stephen gave me a hard look, "Child, be silent." I could feel the force of his will and took a step back. "She may be underage but Greg is correct." Hazel said, and held out a hand, "First, I will need to see the documents that back up your statement. Then I will need to talk to the leader of the New Orleans Dark Coven to verify that this matter was discussed jointly, since it involves members of both orders. After that, we can talk about trusts and the role of executor." Stephen shook his head and I watched as he reached under his coat and pulled out a two-foot wooden rod. It was made of the whitest wood I've ever seen and had blue glyphs inscribed along its length. "I don't think so. My write instructs me to take said items, to include one Travel Diadem, into custody. I will hold them until all the legal details are worked out. I've been licensed as a Warden to act in this matter." "The Diadem was not from the Wright inheritance!" Vivian exclaimed drawing a wand I'd seen her use before. "I was Alexander Hughes! Fire magic has been strong in my family for hundreds of years, do not test me! The coronet has been in my family from before we left Ireland." "Little witch, do not seek to test the power of a Grand Master Water Warlock!" Stephan laughed. "Even if you were once a Warden, your strength is pitiful compared to what it once was. Even if you have a half-full circle behind you, you cannot match me." "Besides, according to the reports, everything in the shop was lost. Therefore you are lying. The diadem is obviously from the Wright collection." Alyssa added. "The shop and most of our valuables was lost. However, a few items had been removed before the witch in Alex's body returned and torched the place. The Diadem was one of those items." Hazel said also drawing a wand. "Lies!" Stephan announced and pointed his rod at Vivian, "I'll be taking the artifact, along with the other items on the inventory I got from the Coven in New Orleans." He looked over at Alyssa, "Show them the inventory, dear." Alyssa pulled out a set of documents stapled together as she did I saw a flash of light from the gems on several of her fingers and an ornate bracelet. "You'll find everything in order. Each item is notarized and at least two witnesses have sworn they were part of the Wright estate. You 'darkies' will have a tough time proving these don't belong to the Coven." Her smile was still bright, but it didn't touch her eyes. I got the feeling that her jewelry was enchanted and held not only manna but offensive and defensive spells. The Frosts had come ready for a fight. "Once I have these artifacts in safe storage you can file a complaint with the Dark Coven in Montgomery. I'm sure we will eventually determine the rightful owners. Although it could take years." The words were cordial but there was nothing in Stephan's stance to indicate a polite resolution. "Bah!" Vivian all but spat, "Getting a Light-Witch to falsify some document, I bet that didn't cost you much." "Are you suggesting we paid for false documents!? I should take you over my knee and teach you not to talk to adults like that." "Give it a try blondie!" "Vincula Contraction!" Stephan's attack was quick as a viper. Vivian lifted her wand and I didn't hear what she said but she shouted a word and a shield flared into place stopping whatever spell Stephan had cast. "Glacies Tempestas, Scutum Glacies!" A ring on Alyssa's right finger flared white-blue with water magic and cold while the bracelet on her left wrist glittered with power. Instantly a hundred shards of ice materialized in front of Alyssa and shot toward Vivian while a half- dome of blue energy sprang up between Alyssa and Stephan on one side and Vivian and Hazel on the other. The dome didn't interfere with the ice however Vivian managed to expand her shield to include both her and Hazel. The crack of super cold, frozen water, hitting a fire shield was as loud as thunder and I clutched Molly's hand and stumbled back out of the room and around the corner just in time as steam billowed out. Just before it touched us Molly whispered something and a wall of air pushed it away. "We've got to help them." I shouted. Molly nodded and took a deep breath. I filled my Manna-Well and readied my air hammer, it was the most powerful attack spell I knew. Just then I heard Hazel call out. "Run! Go to the training area and wait for us." I stopped, feeling unsure. They were friends and teachers, and they were being attacked in their home by two people who'd helped stick me in this body. Then I realized they were using my sister as much as she was using them. The list of items probably came as much from Kelly as it did from anyone in New Orleans. I moved to peek around the corner and Molly seized my arm in a death grip. "What are you doing?" "Just one spell, then we run. I have an idea. Trust me." When I looked again flames were flickering around the room. Both sets of witches still stood, but with Stephan, a Warlock at full power, and his wife in a circle with, who knows how many, it seemed like Vivian and Hazel were sure to lose. Unless I could change the game. I took careful aim and then shouted, "Aer Malleo!" and pushed all the manna I could into the spell while using the full strength of the circle. Then I ducked back. I heard a shout and then a crash that shook the whole house violently causing both Molly and me to fall over. I'd been expecting it, so I was up and grabbed Molly by the arm hauling her behind me. I was running before the shaking stopped. The Diadem and a few other items were normally kept locked in a vault in the basement. The vault used a ward that we'd been taught so opening it was easy. In what seemed like seconds we were stumbling into the training hall in the Training Realm. The gate winked out and both Molly and I collapsed to the sand floor. *** Chapter 11 *** I'm not sure how long we sat there. We were both stunned and in shock. The backpack sitting between us held a few items, things that we knew were important and grabbed from the vault. The most important artifact rested on Molly's brow. Slowly, she took it off and dropped it into the backpack. "I think, I need something to drink." I got up and offered her a hand and then I winced at how hard it was to tug her to her feet. This body was pathetically weak compared to my rightful form. "Let's go. The kitchen's got bottled water and I think I saw a few sports drinks. I slung the backpack over one shoulder and followed Molly down to the bunkroom and kitchen. I paused to toss the backpack onto a bed and then trailed Molly into the kitchen. Molly handed me a water bottle and I took a sip. The water was cool and tasted amazing, 'I really must be dehydrated.' I chugged the rest. "You're such a guy, for a super sexy girl." Molly giggled and took another sip. "Har-de-har-har," I grumped crushing the plastic bottle and tossing it into the trash can before pulling another bottle from the case. "No, Kelly-er-Greg, I'm being serious. Alyssa wasn't lying. You look like Kelly, but a perfected Kelly. A Kelly who could apply for a job as the cover model for Miss Teen USA. Maybe I should have accepted that beauty spell." "No way Mols! You've always been a hottie. Can't improve on perfection." "Dufus." She hit me on the arm and I pretended it hurt. After another minute Molly looked at me, "What are we going to do?" I shrugged, and then grimaced at the way my boobs bounced in response. "We wait." I looked down at dainty girl watch on my wrist. "It's eight thirty. I think we need to plan on spending the night. If either Hazel or Vivian haven't come to get us by tomorrow morning we use the crown to return." "My parents are going to flip out." "Yeah, mine too, but we don't want to return and find Stephan there waiting for us." "That would suck." Then Molly opened her second water bottle. "What was that spell you used? I couldn't hear the words and how did you shake the whole house?" I grinned, "It was that air hammer spell. You know the one where we harden the air into the shape of a hammer and then hit stuff with it?" "Yeah, but I don't understand, the whole house was shaking. You're not that strong." "I didn't aim it at Steve or Alyssa, I sent it with all the power I had at the front wall right at the fireplace. That wall is an exterior load-bearing wall. I managed to knock the whole fireplace into the front yard. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire front of the house collapses." "What?! You idiot! Hazel is going to kill us. You wrecked their house." I put my hand on Molly's shoulder and noticed that we were now the same height. That beauty spell must have caused me to grow an inch or two. "It wasn't a fair fight. Inside a house, Vivian couldn't use her most powerful fire magic. There were small fires starting all over that room when I poked my head in. I knocked out the whole front wall with that spell. It forced them to take the fight outside. I'll take a strong fire witch over a water warlock any day provided they have room to work." Molly looked surprised, it must not have occurred to her that Vivian had been holding back. "Besides, you heard them, Vivian and Hazel have bank accounts and insurance money from their current lives and their previous. I bet they can rebuild the house, if they want to, without too much of a hit to their bank account." "Okay. Uhm, are you hungry? I'm not a bad cook. Let me see if I can fix us something." "Sure," I already knew that Molly was actually pretty damn good in the kitchen. She'd been helping her mom for years and this summer she got a job at the town diner busing tables, but also helping out in the kitchen. "Do you think they'll be okay?" I'd found a chair in the "dining" area and dragged it to the kitchen so I could watch Molly while she worked. "I think so." "What are you going to do about," Molly gestured toward me. "The body-swap? Confront Greg. He can't just take my life. He doesn't know how to play football. Tomorrow night will be a disaster if he plays. He'll swap us for that and then I'll never take this ring off!" I held up the ring I was wearing. "Oh, I guess. What if Kelly doesn't swap? What if she just doesn't show up to the game, or... I don't know, fakes an injury?" I hadn't thought about that, I'd been telling myself she had to swap back for the game. "She'll swap. It's the biggest game of the year. We're both undefeated and the whole school is counting on a win! It's Montrose!" Molly nodded, but didn't look like she was convinced. I wasn't either, if I was being honest. The image of Kelly pushing my cock into Violet hit me, 'She's never going to give up my body, again.' I started to shake, a lump formed in the back of my throat, and I felt tears blur my sight. 'Enough! You're a man. If she doesn't give you back your body, then you'll have to force her.' *** The golden gate sprang up and I looked back at Molly who was wearing the Diadem. "I'll go through and look around. Remember, give me ten minutes, and then open the gate. If I'm not there waiting, close it and wait an hour. Open the gate at the top of every hour for the next six hours. If I don't show up, I think you need to travel to one of the witch villages and ask for help." "I know the plan. I don't like it, but I understand." It was eight a.m. We'd not heard from either Vivian or Hazel. I stepped into the dark and waited for the gate to wink out. Abruptly, the darkness was absolute. The scent of the fire was so strong that I started coughing. "Aerem!" I felt the flow of magic and took a deep breath. The air tasted clean, so I knew my filter-air spell had worked. "Lux." I made a gesture with my right hand that ended up with my palm facing up. A ball of silver-white light sprang into being and floated just above my palm. I gave it a mental nudge and it rose up above my head and grew brighter. In the slivery light I looked around at the devastation. Most of the floor above me had collapsed and signs of the fire and then the water the fire department must have used to put it out were everywhere. I was standing at one end of the basement that seemed to have suffered less damage than the rest. It was still bad. The staircase was gone. Large boards from the collapse filled most of the room. I couldn't see into the level above this one and there was no sign of light. "Fuck. That fight must have got out of hand." I moved around, careful not to disturb anything, who knew what might bring the rest of the building down. The heat down here had gotten hot enough to crack the cinder block walls. It didn't look like anything in the basement had survived. I sent my ball of light moving around the room, so I could look at the ceiling, hoping to find a way up. Just then a golden gate snapped into existence and I hurried to step back through allowing my light and filter-air spells to die. Molly relaxed a bit when she saw me and came over to give me a hug as the gate vanished. I couldn't help noticing the way our boobs smashed together and I bent a little at the waist to ease the crushing. "Geeze, Mols, you're crushing my tits." "Now those are words I never thought I'd hear Greg Pierson say!" Then her smile faded, "What did you find?" "Destruction. The house must have burned down. The basement is totally blocked." "Could we use air and blast a way up?" "Maybe, but we might bring the whole damn building down on our heads. I don't think even together we can hold up several tons of building." "What are our options?" I brushed my hair back from my face, another reminder that I was in Kelly's body. I always kept my hair cut short. "We should wait another day. If we've heard nothing we should find one of those villages. There must be a way to get back home. Once home we can find a way back to Fairview and figure out what happened." "You're probably right, but waiting sucks!" "Then let's go up to the surface and practice. Using magic will make us better at the craft and will pass the time." Molly agreed, and we packed a bag with some food and water and then went up to the surface. There was plenty of light, so we started with flying practice. Out and back, touch the cliff wall on the other side of the gorge and race back. I won the first race, easily, and when I landed it hit me. I weighed so much less, therefore I could fly faster! I was pulling the same amount of power through my focus and using the power of the circle to augment my spell craft, just like always. Only now, I beat Molly by a good ten seconds. "No fair! I'm supposed to be faster." "I just got rid of more than a hundred and fifteen pounds! Talk about the quickest weight loss in history." Then I froze. Molly looked concerned and glanced around. Not seeing anything she looked back at me, "I'm sorry, Greg, I didn't mean to upset you." I felt confused for a moment and then flashed Molly Kelly's new and improved smile. "No, it's not that, I just realized I was using the power of the circle. That means we still have a circle of four. Vivian and Hazel have to be alive or our power would be diminished." Molly made an "O" with her mouth and then laughed. "You're right! I was doing the same thing. So, we just have to wait. They'll come for us sooner or later." I nodded, "I think so." We were having lunch on the blanket, looking down at the natural beauty of the mountain meadow when I saw something in the distance. I lifted my hands up to my eyes and cupped them like I was holding a set of binoculars and whispered "Visus Aquilae." I felt the air between my hands move and adjust and all at once the image in the distance zoomed in. "Oh, wow, who would have thought?" "What is it?" Molly asked and then repeated the spell I'd used. "A flying carpet, with three people sitting on it, from what I'm seeing... it looks like Vivian and Hazel and a guy with a turban and a beard." They must have been flying really fast because in a few minutes the carpet was over head, circling and descending. When it landed Molly threw herself forward into Hazel's arms. "You're okay! I was so worried." "Sshush, dear, we're fine." Hazel murmured stroking Molly's hair. I nodded to Vivian and noticed that she had one arm in a cast and sling. I could also see some bruising around her face. "It's good to see you. Looks like it was a tough fight, I hope the other guy looks worse." I tried to make it a joke and shook her good hand. Vivian grimaced. "Yeah, burns are tough, even for those gifted with water. Stephan will live and in a month or two you won't be able to tell I burned off half his face." "Oh, shit." I gasped thinking about how painful that must have been. When Molly let go of Hazel she moved over to hug Vivian. I offered my hand to Hazel, she also had a few bruises, but nothing looked broken. Instead of taking my hand she enfolded me in a hug, this time I remembered to bend at the waist. After a moment she let go and turned to the man. "Thank you, Jakeem. I will put in a good word for you with the Coven." The man who was still sitting cross-legged on the carpet nodded, "It isn't necessary, we agreed upon a price and you paid. I will be going now." We moved away from the carpet and I felt the man on it use air magic, but I couldn't hear what he said. Then the carpet lifted off, it spun around and accelerated away. "I never thought I'd see a flying carpet." "They're rare. The crafting of the carpet requires a Sorcerer and is a difficult skill, and then it takes an Air-Witch to fly it. Jakeem, is a very strong warlock, and his carpet is worth millions." Vivian noted. "How are we going to get home?" Molly asked, and then in the same breath, "How did you get here?" "Let's go inside and we'll answer your questions." Hazel said. *** The bitter taste of the instant coffee made me grimace. I'd gotten used to having a cup every morning to help me wake up on my way over to practice, but Kelly's taste-buds didn't like it! On top of which, it was instant coffee. I forced myself to take another sip. I was determined to get Kelly's mouth used to this flavor that way when I gave it back to her she'd have a new caffeine addiction. "Where to start?" Hazel mused over a cup of tea. "How did you get here?" Molly asked. "And how do we get home." "That's easy. We went to New Orleans and used the portal they have there to this Realm. There is a town about a hundred miles east of here where we were hoping Jakeem or someone with a flying business would be in the Realm. We got lucky since Jakeem and his carpet are about the best around. We paid him in gold and he flew us up here." "So we could get back the same way?" "We could," Vivian said, "but why would we? We'll use the Diadem." I shook my head, "We can't. It opens to the basement of your house and it's a total wreck. I don't know how we'd get out without bringing the whole place down on our heads." "Ah, but the gem aligned to our Realm can be reprogramed to a different anchor point. I'll change it to a previous anchor point and set that as the current point. It stores the last dozen or more. I used it the other day to get to the training Realm from the meadow in the state park. That's where we'll go when we return." "What happened after we left?" "After you blew out the front of our house, you mean?" Vivian asked with a glint in her eye. Then she laughed. "Thanks for that. You probably saved our lives. Never fight a water or earth witch in an enclosed space." I nodded, it made sense. "What happened?" "The house shook and everyone fell over." Hazel laughed. "Then Alexander showed them what a Master Warden who is also a Master Fire Warlock can do." "Not exactly. I'm not a Warden or a Warlock anymore." "You sure looked like it yesterday." Vivian looked at me and I noticed a few locks of red-hair mixed in with the midnight tresses. "I dyed them. All of this black is depressing so I added a touch of my color." "It looks good," Molly said reaching out to touch Vivian's hair. "I'm glad you did it, you've been talking about it all semester." "We had to wait to use the Portal in New Orleans and there was a salon across the street." Vivian shrugged, "I hit them with Fire Storm and followed up with Blazing Spear and a good old-fashioned Fire Ball. By that point their shields had collapsed, the house was on fire, and the warrant with the fake inventory was ashes." "It was a little more complicated. Stephan had a few good spells, but I doubt he was a trained fighter." Hazel noted. "They surrendered, so I bound them and took them home. Then we registered a complaint with the Dark Coven in Montgomery and took off for New Orleans." "What about my... brother? Was he at their house when you dropped them off?" Vivian nodded, "Yeah, Greg-er-Kelly was. Both he and Violet tried to bluster but they're still children. Violet started in with healing magic at once and Kelly gave us the evil-eye until we left. The magical binding wore off after two hours so I'm sure that both Stephan and Alyssa have been using their own magic to speed the healing." At Molly's worried look Hazel patted her hand, "Don't fret dear, they'll be fine. Water Witches are very strong healers." "Although, I think they'll remember what it feels like to have their skin burned to a crisp. It's a type of pain that's hard to forget." Vivian said. "Maybe they'll think twice before attacking a Fire Witch in her home." "Will you two get into trouble?" "There will be an investigation. Stephan and Alyssa came onto our property with what I believe was fraudulent documents and tried to intimidate us into handing over our property. Even if everything was above board, we should have received 30 days' notice of this legal action." Hazel said. "Now that the Coven's are involved, I think we'll be fine." "What about your house?" "Don't worry about that, we'll just rebuild. We own the property, and as Stephan said, we've got a bit of cash socked away." After that everyone was quiet. At last I broke the silence, "What about my sibling? He's not your apprentice now but he has my body. We have a big game tonight." "You'll have to talk to him-er-her." Hazel said. "She controls the swaps." "We could try to force her, but that's as wrong as what she's doing. Try talking to her. You have as much skill and because of the circle you are just as strong now magically. Get her to understand that what she's doing is evil." *** Chapter 12 *** I walked into my house and announced, "I'm home!" "Oh, hi Kelly, did you have fun with Molly and Vivian? It's so generous, the way you girls agreed to stay with her and her mother after their house burned down. What a tragedy. I do hope they have insurance." Hazel told me that they'd adjusted Molly and my parent's memories slightly so they thought we were staying with Vivian to comfort her after her house caught on fire. "How are they doing? The church has a clothing ministry, we could find them a few things to wear until they get back on their feet." "I think they'll be okay, Mom. They had insurance, and Ms. Wright is taking Vivian shopping this weekend in Montgomery. Have you seen Greg? It's a big game tonight. I want to wish him luck." "Oh, dear, didn't you hear? Greg dislocated his shoulder helping the Frosts move furniture onto their back deck. One of the boards was rotted and he fell through and landed right on the shoulder. Doctor says he'll be fine in about a month, but he's done with high school football." I felt my stomach drop. 'Fucking Kelly! She had to ruin it, without me, the team doesn't stand a chance.' "He's with the team now, but he won't be suited up. You're father already left for the game do you want to go?" I nodded, one way or another I needed to see what happened. *** I was waiting by my truck when Kelly walked up, he had his "good" arm draped over Violet's shoulder and when he saw me he gave her boob a squeeze. Violet had an arm around his waist and in response, hugged him close. Most of the cars had cleared out. Kelly and Violet were taking their time. "Just keep your cool. We can't afford a public display of magic." Molly murmured. "Hi, Kelly, Molly, did you like the game? You win some and lose some, kind of a sad ending to such a promising season. Oh, well, in four weeks I'm off to college." I ground my teeth. The final score had been twenty-one to twenty- four. We'd not let anyone, all season, score more than fourteen points. The defense had missed me. I was a captain and I called all the defensive adjustments. The dream of a perfect season and a state championship was dust. "There are a lot of people who were upset and let down. The whole town was counting on a win." "Yeah, well, disappointment is part of life." Violet snarled, "My parents are still in bed recovering from burns! Just wait, your precious teachers are in trouble. We sent a message off to the Light Wardens in Montgomery. They're going to be stripped of all power and forced to live like normals." "I doubt that." Molly said in a colder voice than anything I'd ever heard. "Hazel already reported the attack and is pressing charges. The Great Coven will probably end up hearing this case. I just hope all of your documents were in order. Although it was your dad who threw the first spell and Hazel recorded the whole fight in a scrying crystal. She thinks you'll end up having to pay damages and will be barred from practicing magic in Alabama." "Its time to come clean, swap us back, you can't steal my life." I had to fight to get the words out. The binding was breaking down, but I still had to fight it. "I don't know what you're talking about, Kelly. I told Violet and her family everything. I'm a Warlock, you're a witch. We were in the wrong bodies. Now everything is the way it should be. I know you resented me. You wanted to be a boy, but face it, I'm the warlock. I tried to do right by you. I got Violet and Alyssa to make you the prettiest, well second prettiest, girl in school. I know you'll have your pick of boys." "I don't want a boy." Kelly shrugged, "Then you'll be the sexiest lesbian in school. Regardless, I'm out of here. I start at Auburn in just over a month. I suggest you stay out of my way, but I'll make it easy. I've already moved most of my stuff into Violet's room. Her parents understand how it is and besides, Vi is graduating with me in December. We're both going to Auburn and Stephan has arranged an apartment on campus for us." I felt my jaw drop, "Mom and Dad would never agree to you moving in with Violet. Not before marriage." Violet giggled, "Greg and I had a talk this morning, before you got back, with "Mom" and "Dad" they understand that we're in love. They don't think Greg could have done better than a good Christian girl like me. They think it's amazing that Greg is willing to donate his free time to help my parents recover from the, "car crash" they were in. They know that with him living in our guest bedroom Greg will be able to help any time of day." "You won't get away with this, I won't let you!" "Ha! What are you going to do little sis?" "You're going to get to school and know nothing about football." "I know plenty, you forget up until this season, when you stole my body, I played football. I'll use a little magic to boost my strength on the field. Rock skin and I won't be moveable and when I hit someone they'll stay down. I'll use a little beguilement to cover any lapses in knowledge and I'll study hard. By fall camp, I'm sure I'll be a better player than ever." It hit me, 'She could really do it. She could steal my life and stick me with hers.' "Come on, Vi, let's get out of here. I want to see you in that new teddy and after we fuck we should check on your parents." "Oh, I love it when you take charge and talk dirty." I felt stunned. Despite everything I thought I'd be able to talk sense to Kelly. I watched as they got into my truck and drove off. I felt weak, abandoned, and alone. Everything I'd worked for was gone and I didn't see a way to get it back. Kelly's body was amazing but she had two years of school. Her grades weren't bad. A good college, maybe a modeling job, or a job using her magic, it was a bright future. Just not the future I wanted. I felt Molly slip her hand into mine. "Let's go." I turned to face her. "Go where? My life is over." "Oh, come on, Kelly, drama much?" "My name's not Kelly! Damn it, look at me! I'm a girl." "Yes, you are, and what's wrong with that? Half the population seems to do just fine with it." "That's not what I meant." "I know. But you have to face facts. Unless Vivian or Hazel can figure out a way, you could be stuck for the rest of your life. Look on the bright side. We can study together under Hazel and Vivian for the next couple of years. We can explore new Realms. Our circle will grow and if Vivian is right and the followers of Light are starting a new campaign then the Dark will need everyone who can toss a spell or two around to stop the oppression." I couldn't help grinning, "That's the bright side?" "Duffus. The bright side is the magic and exploring new Realms. The other is a reason to study hard and learn as much as possible." We both turned and headed to Molly's mom's car. "Vivian and Hazel are staying at the hunting lodge. Did you get permission to spend the night?" I nodded. "Yeah, Mom thinks it's great we're helping them after the fire." As I climbed into the car I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more going on and that even if I didn't get my body back the clash between the followers of light and dark had only just started. End P.S. - I just wanted to say thank you to Mr. 20' biceps and Eric for proof reading and offering editorial advice. If you enjoyed this story please take a moment to leave a note.