Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 18:17:54 +0100
From: Phil Stevens <phil_stevens@bigfoot.com>
Subject: Dream Girl part 2

Well, it's been a long time coming and it's taken a lot of work, but here
it finally is, Part Two of my first story, Dream Girl.

Unfortunately, the story is still not complete. At this point, I have no
plans to complete the story either because I have stopped writing (I'll
explain more at the end).

Otherwise, enjoy the story.


Phil Stevens
Phil_stevens@bigfoot.com


==============================================


For those that can't quite remember, here is a brief reminder of the main
characters in the story.


Michael: The poor guy that's been transformed into his own sexual fantasy.

Tina: The woman that accidentally transformed him whilst trying to turn
herself into Michael's dream girl. Michael saved Tina's life several months
earlier.

Mary: A friend of Tina's family. She was running the show and clearly has
authority within the witches.

Andrew: Tina's brother, whose life was also saved by Michael.

Sarah: Tina's mother, whose life was also saved by Michael.

Richard: A detective sergeant in the LAPD and a member of the witch
community.


A few years back, Michael gained telekinetic powers from a car accident,
which killed his wife. Over the following years he kept these powers secret
from everyone around him as he practiced and refined them.

Some years later Michael uses his powers to save the life of a
family. Unknown to him, the family is part of a group of witches. The
daughter, Tina took a particular shine to Michael and she wants to thank
him personally. The witches are completely unaware of Michael's telekinetic
abilities.

When Michael takes a short trip to San Diego to visit Tina and the family,
Tina decides to transform herself into Michael's sexual fantasy.
Unfortunately, things don't go to plan. Instead of Tina being transformed,
Michael is transformed into his own sexual fantasy (a blonde bombshell with
a very blatant body).

He runs off in shock. There then follows a race against the clock to
transform Michael back before the change becomes permanent. During this
time, Michael experiences some of the highs (an orgasm) and lows (an
attempted rape) of what it is like to be a woman.

Eventually the witches do catch up with Michael, but literally seconds
before he is due to be turned back, the spell becomes permanent. The story
ends with Michael being injected with some tranquilizer and falling asleep.


Dream Girl
==========

Part Two


Chapter Six
===========

Michael started to wake up. "Damn, that was a weird dream," he thought. He
had a strange dream that Tina was some sort of witch and that she
transformed him into a buxom babe of a girl. He remembered that it wasn't
too bad at first because he fingered himself to a female orgasm. Slowly the
dream began to turn into more of a nightmare when he was almost gang
raped. But worst of all, when the dream ended, he was stuck as a woman.

Michael could hear muffled voices, but he couldn't make them out clearly
enough to recognize. He started to open his eyes. Just as his vision was
coming into focus, he felt himself fall back into sleep.

The woman put the syringe back onto the side table. Mary walked up to the
bed and looked at Michael's beautiful female form as he slipped back into a
deep sleep. She softly stroked his head.

"How long will that keep her knocked out," Mary asked the woman standing
nearby, referring to Michael as a "she".

"A few hours. How much longer do you want me to keep her like this? We
can't keep her out permanently."

"Well, don't give her any more. We have a Council meeting shortly. At least
then I'll have something to tell her when she wakes up."

The woman nodded. Mary then walked up to the only window in the large
room. As she looked outside, she could see the sun beginning to rise above
the trees in front of her, marking the start of what was going to be a long
day. She took the opportunity to check that the window was fully locked and
secure.

Internally, she felt that placing Michael in such a secure room was
unnecessary as far as security arrangements went, but other Council members
had insisted on such precautions. Satisfied with the window, she walked out
of the room.

*****************

The three men and five women were seated around a large oval oak
table. Mary was just finishing her explanation to the group of people about
the sequence of events that happened two days ago, which led to Michael
being permanently transformed into a beautiful woman.
 
Two days previous, they had all battled stop Michael's transformation from
becoming permanent, so he didn't have to live his whole life as a
woman. They failed in that battle, but already, a new battle was emerging.

It was a few hours since Mary had been in Michael's room. The entire
Council was convened. Judging by the usual speed of decisions from the
Council, Mary knew that it was going to be long day.

"...So after I had convinced Michael to come back to us, I sent Richard to
pick him up from the point where he had been almost raped. At the same
time, Tina prepared the spell which would delay his magical protection
kicking in."

Mary looked down, remembering the defeat of the entire situation, "But as
we got Michael back into the house, his magical protection kicked in half
an hour early. We think it came on early because of the situation. He
probably felt threatened and we know that anxiety tends to bring on the
final part of the transformation into a witch. Afterwards, he was in
complete shock, so we gave him a tranquilizer and knocked him, or rather
her out."

Mary finished her story, then looked around the table to try to judge the
reaction. There was a slight pause before one of the women spoke, "Are you
sure the magical protection has kicked in fully."

"Yes. Over the past day, we've tried all sorts of spells on her. Apart from
the healing spells to heal the injuries she sustained from her attack, we
couldn't get any spell past her defenses. There's nothing else we can try;
she's Kithra now. We can't turn her back."

"How is... she now," asked the same person not sure whether to refer to
Michael as he or she.

"Physically no problem. She has a perfect body. We've healed all her
injuries. But mentally, well, who can say. She's been forcibly transformed
into a woman. She was nearly gang raped and now she's stuck like that. I'm
no analyst, but the psychological scars could run very deep."

"So where is she now," asked the same person.

"She's over at the mansion," interrupted another woman. "We have her locked
up in one of the secure bedrooms."

A man interrupted, "Hang on. Those secure rooms are where we put enemy
Kithra to stop them from casting any spells. Surely you don't think she'll
be casting her own spells already. None of us were casting real spells for
months after being transformed." The man's words brought a concerned look
on some faces.

"No. I guess she probably won't ever be able to cast spells, period. But we
put her in there because the rooms are very secure anyway and the
circumstances involving her transformation were completely unique, so we're
not taking any chances."

"I agree," replied a man. Mary recognized the voice as Hank's without even
looking. If there was one thing she knew for certain, it was that she would
have trouble from Hank. She just didn't know, at that stage, how much
trouble Hank would cause.

"We shouldn't take any chances," Hank continued. "You all know our
rules. No outsider must be allowed access to magic at any cost. We should
follow them to the letter. She should be..." he paused, looked around the
table, then completed his sentence, "executed"

The was a prolonged silence before Mary spoke out, "Hank. Even you're not
that cruel. How can you even suggest that." Mary acted shocked, but she
knew from the moment Michael was exposed to the full Transformation spell
that it could always be a distant possibility. They all tried to put it out
of their minds at the time and concentrate on getting Michael turned back,
but now, they were faced with the hard cold realities.

"It's been done before. Even in our lifetimes," Hank replied.

"Yes. When people try to take our magic secrets from us. But Michael never
asked for this. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's not
to blame," Mary said, stating her case early.

"It doesn't matter," Hank retorted. "This is our most basic law, laid down
by our ancestors. After the sacrifice they made for us, the least we can do
is follow their first rule, that normals can NEVER be allowed access to
magic," he paused before speaking again in a sterner voice, "regardless of
the cost."

Again, there was silence so Hank continued, "Look, I don't like it any more
than you, but we don't have much of a choice. I'm only speaking out because
no one else has the balls to. It's written clearly. No normal can have
access to magic."

"But he isn't a normal anymore," Mary stated.

"No, but he was. He doesn't know our ways. He hasn't followed our teachings
from birth. To allow him access to magic could destroy us. We can't take
that chance."

*****************

Michael slowly began to wake up again. He had an itch on his face just
underneath one of his eyes, so brought his hand up to scratch it when his
nail poked into his eyelid.

"Ow," he thought. He didn't realize that his nails were that long.

In an instant, the memory of his dream flooded back to him. He opened his
eyes with a shot and sat bolt upright in bed. One look down at his hands
and his prominent chest confirmed his worst fears. He grabbed the large
mounds on his chest, took a gasp of breath, gave the faintest of cries,
then flopped back down onto the bed.

Over the next few minutes, Michael remained perfectly still as all his
bodily sensations returned to him. Each new sensation only served to
confirm his worst fears. "It wasn't a dream," he thought. "It was all
real. I'm a fucking woman."

He looked down at himself, no herself again. As if it wasn't bad enough
that she was now a woman, Michael could see that she was wearing a pink
satin nightgown. She felt her emotions build up as the urge to cry swept
through her. She fought back the tears as hard as she could. She did more
crying yesterday than she had in the past few years.

After a few minutes, she looked around the room trying to work out where
she was. It was a lavish bedroom about thirty feet squared and she was in a
large luxurious bed. Feeling the need to find out where she was, Michael
pushed the bed covers aside and jumped out of bed. As she tried to take a
few steps forward, the room started spinning, due to the combined effect of
the drugs and her new balance. She had to reach out to one of the bedposts,
before she fell over.

Michael remained there, clutching the bedpost for several minutes as she
attempted to regain her co-ordination. Eventually, the dizziness subsided
slightly and she felt the confidence to let go of the bedpost. Carefully,
she released one hand, then the other. When she was satisfied that she
could stand, she slowly walked over to the only window in the room, having
to look down and literally put one foot in front of the other to avoid
falling over.

When Michael reached the window, she looked outside. There were no other
buildings in sight and just some trees about forty feet in front of
her. She guessed that she was in the grounds of a mansion. Michael also
assumed from the height that she was roughly on the third floor, maybe the
second if the ceilings on the floor below were high.

As she looked out, she noted that it was an overcast day, probably around
midday. Michael could also feel that the general temperature was cooler
than before and it was obvious that she was nowhere near San Diego
anymore. The window had a lock on it, and was tightly shut. Michael knew in
that moment, that the room, however lavish, was little more than a
comfortable prison.

She tried to sense her telekinetic powers, but they didn't seem to be
working, which wasn't too unusual. Her powers were never that strong in the
morning. Michael had long guessed that the part of her brain that enabled
her to move objects with her mind, required extra time to wake up. She knew
that it would be at least an hour before Michael could use them to any real
degree, just like yesterday.

Michael felt a pressure in her bladder and she knew that she had to go to
the bathroom. As she looked around, she saw what appeared to be a private
bathroom set aside. Her co-ordination had now returned to an acceptable
level, so she walked inside the bathroom and turned on the light. Again,
the room had lavish fittings. Michael thought that in many ways she would
have preferred a dirty concrete cell. At least that would have been honest
accommodations.

She pulled up her nightdress and quickly relieved herself on the
toilet. She shook her head slowly in realization of her situation as she
was forced to wipe herself. As she stood up, she was ready to flush the
toilet when she caught her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Pausing
slightly, she carefully walked over to it.

She looked straight into the bathroom mirror and stared for about a
minute. Although she saw the same reflection as she did yesterday, it was
slightly different now. The expression was more saddened and her long hair
was in a mess all tangled up behind her. She still couldn't believe the
beautiful creature staring back was really her.

Her mind started to fill with the events of yesterday. She could feel a
rage building inside her. All she could think about was Richard's words to
her when he said that they couldn't turn her back and that she was now
stuck like that. Her mind was yelling that she couldn't spend the rest of
her life like this, she just couldn't. There had to be something she could
do.

The rage within Michael built further as she clenched her fists. Her long
nails dug into her palms, causing her pain, but the pain was dulled by her
rising anger. Something clicked inside her as her telekinetic powers
awakened. Had she been in a calm mood, she would have noticed that it was
very unusual so early after waking up, but in her enraged state, it was
just an outlet for her anger. She concentrated hard, focusing her
power. Soon, the bathroom mirror shattered into a hundred pieces as she
gave out a loud roar.

*****************

Mary was talking to Andrew and Sarah in a large hallway. She had been
hoping for something better, but the initial meeting with the Council had
gone pretty much as she had expected. They had adjourned for lunch, and
because their historical meeting place was only a short distance from the
mansion, Mary had taken the opportunity to check up on Michael.

"How's Tina?" Mary asked Sarah.

"Okay. She's still taking it hard. We've kept her busy this past day, but
what she really needs is some good news about Michael."

"I'm doing the best I can, just like I said I would. But you know how
strict our rules are. We're convening again shortly after lunch. I just
popped over here to see how things are."

Mary could fully understand what Tina was going through. Tina had known,
from the very beginning, about the problems that would be faced if
Michael's transformation had become permanent, and although the threat of
harm to Michael was remote, Mary could see that even the slightest
possibility of Michael being harmed, terrified Tina and her whole family.

However, Mary wasn't going to let Hank have his way. She had known at the
start of the day that Hank would cause trouble. His views were among the
most extreme within their group and although he did have his supporters,
they were few in number.

But Mary also fully realized that allowing Michael to be released wasn't
going to be a formality. Hank was completely correct when he quoted the
groups' rules. They were very specific in saying that no normal could ever
be allowed access to magic. However, Mary was sure that the majority of
their group were decent people. They wouldn't allow any harm to come to
Michael as long as Mary played the situation right.

As Mary was about to say something more, their conversation was broken a
piercing scream that rang throughout the whole mansion. The scream was
definitely that of a woman although it was more of an attempt at a roar
than a scream.

"Michael," Mary and Sarah said together.

They all ran up the stairs to the room where they knew Michael was being
kept. Outside the room, Mary could see a woman looking through a small
peephole in the door. They could hear crashing sounds emanating from inside
the room.

"She's smashing the room up," the woman yelled as she saw Mary approaching.

Three more people arrived quickly, two men and a woman.

"Get some tranquilizer," Mary yelled to the woman at the door.

The woman ran to a small table beside the door, injected a needle into a
small bottle and started drawing liquid into the syringe.

"Quickly," Mary called just as Michael started kicking the door with her
foot. With the extra boost from her telekinetic powers, she was making the
door shake on its hinges surprising everyone outside the room.

Mary saw that the woman had finished preparing the syringe. "Right. You
three hold her down," she said to the men, before turning to the woman,
"While you inject her." All nodded.

They could tell that Michael had stopped smashing against the door, but
they could hear a new smashing sound inside the room. Not wishing to waste
any time, Mary opened the door as Andrew and the other two men rushed
inside.

As soon as the door opened, they saw that Michael was smashing a chair
against the window, attempting to break it, but fortunately for them, the
glass was very strong and had not yielded and the only thing being broken
was the antique chair.

Michael however, was in a state of complete rage. After breaking the mirror
with her powers, she had attempted to break out of the room. However, she
quickly discovered that her powers were not strong enough to break
out. Something was wrong.

As she saw the three men rushing towards her, she instantly tried to knock
them down with her powers, but again something wasn't right. She couldn't
project her power like she usually could. It had taken a full minute of
sustained concentration to break the bathroom mirror. Somehow, she couldn't
lash out at her attackers with her powers.

However, she instantly realized that she could still use her powers to
increase her strength, so acting on instinct, she rushed forward towards
the first man, her hands outstretched and grabbed him by the throat,
catching him completely off guard.

Michael had one hand on his throat and the other on his face as she pushed
him back against the wall.

Andrew and the other man grabbed Michael's arms and pulled them away from
the shocked mans face, but not before Michael's long nails dug very deep
into his face, scratching him.

Andrew and the other man tried to wrestle Michael down onto the bed, but
they were completely unprepared for the fight she was going to give
them. Remembering the tactics she used yesterday, she kicked Andrew in the
groin, winding him slightly. She couldn't seem to project the force like
she did yesterday so her kick did not cause as much damage as she had
intended, but it was enough to make Andrew let go. At the same time, she
was able to free herself from the other man's grip.

Now that she was temporarily freed, Michael made a run for the door. She
could see Mary, Sarah and two other women in the doorway, but she easily
knocked them aside, gaining freedom from her prison cell.

Michael ran down the hallway as fast as she could, which wasn't as fast as
she would have liked due to the fact that she was wearing a full nightgown,
which serve to hinder her every step. As she turned a corner, she saw
someone open a door and run out into the hallway. Michael summoned all her
strength and prepared to knock the person over. She didn't care who she had
to go past in order to be free.

But as she closed in on the person, she stopped suddenly. She recognized
her. It was Tina.

"Michael," Tina called out as the recognized the beautiful female image
that she had transformed Michael into.

Michael was frozen. She searched her feelings. Standing right in front of
her, was the person responsible for transforming her into a woman. An angry
part of her told her that she should knock Tina's head off where she
stands. But she couldn't. After all that had transpired, she couldn't bring
herself to hurt Tina.

As Michael stood there, temporarily frozen, she was grabbed from behind and
pulled over.  As she fell, her body twisted so she landed face first on the
floor. The man who had grabbed her then sat down on top of her pinning her
down as Tina screamed, "Let him go, you're hurting him."

The man pushed Michael down but she tried to push herself back up with the
aid of her powers. Amazingly, she found that her powers were now working
fully again, so she started to push up even with the guy on top of her,
much to the man's amazement. She was about to reach out with her powers and
throw the guy off, when Andrew, now recovered from Michael's blow, crouched
down and pulled Michael's arms out from under her causing Michael to fall
back down again, this time with her head twisted to the side.

"Fucking hurry up," Andrew shouted to the woman with the syringe as he
twisted Michael's arm behind him while the other man pressed his knee down
on Michael's back.

The woman rushed up, squeezed past and injected the needle into Michael's
arm depositing the tranquilizer in her bloodstream. Michael never even felt
the needle enter her body because of the intense pain of being held in that
position. Tina then tried to intervene, to somehow help Michael, but Andrew
held her away, while at the same time, lending assistance to the man on top
of Michael.

At that point, the man whose face had been scratched was also back to
help. The three men then held Michael down using any means they could until
the tranquilizer began to work. It wasn't long before Michael stopped
struggling, but they continued to hold her for over a minute, until they
were finally convinced Michael was truly unconscious.

As they slowly released Michael, Mary and Sarah walked up. Mary knelt down
to Michael, while Sarah walked up to her crying daughter and embraced
her. Tina was incoherent in her crying. Sarah carefully led her back into
her room.

Mary, now satisfied that Michael was fully unconscious, walked up to the
man whose face had been scratched. He was softly putting his hand to the
scratches assessing the damage to his face and pride. Mary could see the
cuts were fairly deep.

"Well, I see she's already learned how to use her claws," Mary remarked as
she examined the scratches on his face. She concentrated hard and used her
magic to heal over the cuts, although she didn't finish the task
completely, because she had other things to worry about. "Go and get that
seen to," she said. The man soon walked away.

Andrew and the other man carefully carried Michael back to her room and
placed her on the bed. Sarah and Mary joined them.

"Damn, she was strong," Andrew said still regaining his breath. "Now we
know how she beat up those rapists. I don't think I've seen someone so
strong with such a figure. She doesn't seem to have the physique for it. I
thought she was turned into her own sexual fantasy."

"She was. I suppose that must have been what Michael's fantasy was. A super
strong babe," Mary said as she checked Michael for any signs of injury. She
would have some bruises from the short struggle, but those could be quickly
attended to, although it would mean removing her from the room temporarily.

"Weird fantasy," the other man said, equally surprised that Michael had put
up such a strong fight.

"Well, it's not as if it's her conscious fantasy. It's probably just buried
deep in her subconscious," Mary said. She then walked up to the man and
said, "Take her into the hallway and heal the bruises on her. Then I want
you to restrain her. I don't want her smashing the room up again when she
wakes up." The man nodded.

Mary played it down, but she was worried about what she had seen. Michael
seemed far too strong for a woman with her figure. Mary had seen some
strong women before, but never when the woman had a body designed for
sex. Initially, she wondered if Michael's strength had been somehow
magically enhanced, but she couldn't see how for two reasons. Firstly,
Michael would not be able to cast any spells for some time and secondly,
even if she could cast spells, her room was designed to hold even the most
powerful of Kithra. No spells could be cast in that room.

She concluded that the only explanation was that Michael's transformation
left her with abnormal natural strength, despite her soft appearance. She
sighed as she realized that she would have to increase security
arrangements.

As Andrew picked up Michael and carried her into the hallway so their magic
could work on her bruises, Mary looked around as she surveyed the
devastation in the room. The damage wasn't as bad as it first appeared. It
looked as if Michael had just thrown things around. Mary walked over to the
window and examined it. Michael had clearly attempted to break it to
escape, but it the glass was super-toughened.

Then Mary walked into the bathroom and saw the broken mirror there. Mary
guessed that Michael probably woke up and freaked out when she saw her
reflection in the mirror. However, she noted that Michael hadn't broken
either of the mirrors in the main bedroom though.

Mary also wondered how Michael had broken the bathroom mirror because there
didn't seem to be any displaced objects in the bathroom. She was about to
cast a Vision spell to find out, but she remembered that it was impossible,
not only because of the room, but also because Michael was now Kithra and
would be immune. Vision spells could only be cast on an area if a normal
person was in the room at the same time, to leave a psychic record of what
happened.

She cursed herself for not approving the plans for installation of video
cameras in the secure rooms. It was synonymous of their group, preferring
not to use technology unless absolutely necessary.

However, lacking a definite record of what happened, Mary made the
assumption that Michael probably smashed the bathroom mirror with an object
in the main bedroom. She wasn't bleeding anywhere, so she couldn't have
used her hands.

Anyway, she concluded that it seemed such an irrelevant point to worry
about, so satisfied, she walked back into the main room. As she did, she
saw that Andrew was carefully laying Michael back down on the bed, after
having been healed in the hallway. Mary saw that Andrew took a long
lingering look at Michael to admire her natural beauty.

"Okay, that's fine. The girls can finish off," Mary interrupted. She knew
that she had to get the guys out of the room as quickly as possible before
Michael's chemical attractions got a full hold.

As the two men filed out, Mary followed and said to the two women, "Clear
all this up and make sure she's restrained. I'm going back to the Council
meeting. Let me know the instant she wakes up again."


Chapter Seven
=============

Mary was back at the Council meeting. News of what happened had already
been reported back and certain sections were already playing it to their
advantage.

"Quite an incident then," Hank said.

"She woke up early and she smashed up her room, that's all," Mary replied
nonchalantly, hoping to play it down.

"That's all," Hank replied, clearly trying to play it up. "It looks like we
have a violent person here. If you ask me, that's even more reason for us
to apply the rules strictly. The last thing we need is a violent witch."

"She's not violent," Mary retorted.

"Really. I understand she put three people in hospital back in California."

Mary was getting annoyed at Hank. She knew Hank had no care for Michael and
she couldn't completely blame him for that, but she was getting
increasingly angry that he was continuing to try to twist the facts to his
angle. Mary knew that Hank was fully aware of that incident.

"Yes," Mary replied, looking straight at Hank with a piercing stare. "They
dragged her into an alleyway, ripped off her clothes and then tried to rape
her. What was she supposed to do. Call Triple-A."

Hank and Mary locked their eyes at each other for a brief few seconds
before Hank eventually shrugged in concession realizing that he had lost,
at least on that point. He knew he should save his arguments for when he
had a better chance of winning.

"One question Mary?" the leader asked. "Why do we only have two women
guarding her. If she is into martial arts, then surely they would be no
match for her now."

Mary paused slightly, before saying, "Well, there's a problem there." Mary
saw Hank roll his eyes. "When Michael was transformed, Tina included some
enhancements to what would have been her own body. The first was to make
the new body horny. As a result, Michael will find it difficult to keep her
hands out of her panties for the next week or so. Actually, that might make
it easier for her to accept her new body.

"Anyway, the other enhancement was to make her new body chemically
irresistible by including pheromones. That's why she was nearly
raped. Those guys couldn't help themselves. They simply had to fuck
her. The two women guarding her are purely straight. They'll be immune to
her pheromones."

"But hang on just a minute," Hank interrupted. "Her room is supposed to be
a magic-less environment. Besides, we should all be immune to her magic."
He deliberately used the words 'her magic' to invoke a little more fear.

"But it's not magic," Mary retorted. "At least, not any more. These
pheromones were caused by magic, but when the spell became permanent, they
became purely biological. The enhancements are not permanent, but it may
take some days or even weeks for them to drop. They've already dropped off
a bit, but until they go completely, it will have to be straight women that
guard her."

The leader interrupted, "So you're saying that none of us guys can get near
her, without wanting to... screw her?"

"It's not that bad," Mary said. "We could develop a spell to provide us
with specific protection against them, but I don't see the point, since
they'll soon be down to a manageable level. In the meantime, I'll get
Tina's mother, Sarah to guard her as well. I've held back from doing that
because of her emotional attachment to the situation, but she is a straight
woman and I think three are better than two."

Hank was about to speak, but the leader interrupted, "Fine. Lets move
on. Now what about Tina, how is she coping."

"Well, understandably upset. When we decide what to do with Michael, we
should also think about Tina. If we end up hurting Michael, we might as
well do the same to Tina. She's devastated over this. Michael saved her
life and now Tina has ruined his. If any... harm comes to Michael, it
could... kill Tina."

Mary knew she wasn't exaggerating on that matter. Tina was very distraught
and Mary feared just as much for Tina's safety as Michael's. However, she
thought that playing that card might help. It was a sad fact of their
society that the life of a Kithra counted more than the life of a normal.

"I hate to seem callous," Hank said and Mary detected just a hint of
sarcasm in his voice. "But Tina only has herself to blame over this. She
should have never cast the full Transformation spell on Michael. Had she
used the reduced one for use on normals, Michael would not have become
Kithra, he would not have gained magical protection and we would have been
able to turn him back. I feel sorry for Tina, but she is at fault."

"Well, we've had a chance to look at that," Mary said. "You have to
remember that Tina was transforming herself, so she had to use the full
version of the spell. Also, she didn't actually cast the transforming part
of the spell on Michael, just the part that seeks out a person's ideal
form."

"Yes, but she shouldn't have tried to adapt the full version of the spell",
Hank retorted. "You all know that we have a special version of the spell,
designed specifically for transforming oneself into another person's dream
lover. I use it regularly."

"Well, YOU might use it regularly," Mary said. "But Tina never has. This
was the first time she'd tried something like this and she didn't have her
spell book with her." Mary neglected to mention the fact that Tina's book
was at her house at the time.

There was a slight pause, so Mary took the opportunity, "Oh. Come on; don't
tell me you've never done the same. I'm sure we've all be out somewhere,
seen someone good looking and wanted to turn yourself into their
fantasy. And I'm prepared to bet, when you can't remember the reduced
version, you've used the full version."

Mary looked around the table and most of them shifted in their seats
slightly, including Hank.

"Of course you have. We've all done it at one time or another because it
never does any harm... only this time it did."

"That raises an interesting point," interrupted the leader. "How did this
get screwed up so badly?"

Mary just shrugged, "We don't know. We've checked it over. Tina didn't do
anything wrong in the execution of the spell, so it must be something to do
with Michael. Had Michael been re-transformed we could have done some
discreet experiments to find out, but now we can't cast any spells against
her. I've asked my investigator, Richard to check into it. He's in New
Jersey right now"

*****************

For the third time, Michael found herself regaining consciousness. Only
this time she knew exactly what she was. She opened her eyes slowly and
just stared at the ceiling for a minute.

Then she turned her head slightly and saw a woman sitting in a chair beside
her bed reading a book. The woman quickly noticed that Michael was now
conscious again.

"Oh. You're awake. Feeling better?" she said with a faint smile.

At first, Michael was going to snap back at her, but she just nodded in
defeat.

Michael tried to move her arms to examine herself, but her arms wouldn't
move. She looked up and saw that both her arms were handcuffed together
round a bedpost.

"Hey. Why the fuck am I handcuffed," Michael yelled, still surprised at her
own high pitched sexy female voice. She kept tugging furiously at the
handcuffs causing her breasts to bounce around on her chest. Her
telekinetic powers were gone, so she felt completely helpless.

"To make sure you didn't hurt yourself again," the woman said as she got up
from her chair. She mentally added the words, "and me as well."

She walked over to Michael. Michael at first tried to pull away, but she
knew there was little she could do. She was completely at the woman's
mercy.

"It's okay," she said holding her hands up reassuring Michael as she saw
the terror in her eyes. Her fear of Michael eased a little. She could now
see that Michael was just scared and frightened.

The woman placed her hand on Michael's forehead, feeling her general
temperature. She walked into the bathroom and returned with a glass
containing a liquid which Michael assumed to be water. She held it up to
Michael's mouth but she refused to open her mouth.

"Come on. It's only water. You must be really thirsty."

Michael was very thirsty so she quickly relented and opened her mouth
taking a large gulp of the water, with some of it spilling down her neck.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she said to the woman as soon as he could.

"We're trying to help you." she replied. She knew Michael probably wouldn't
understand that.

"Help me. Then let me go. Mary said I could go free yesterday. Why I being
held here?" Michael demanded, giving another tug on her handcuffs.

"Well, she didn't say anything to you yesterday," the woman replied. "It
was the day before. We kept you asleep all yesterday. I'll tell Mary you've
woken up. I'm sure she will explain everything to you," the woman said as
she walked to the door and banged on it.

"It's me. Open the door," she called out.

Michael heard the door being unlocked before it was opened. The woman
walked through, before the door was closed and locked again, leaving
Michael all alone once more.

Michael was left to contemplate her thoughts. She tried to consider the
facts, but she could only come to one brief conclusion... that Mary had
lied to her.

She thought that they never intended to turn her back. She could only
grimace at the thought of what they were going to do with her now. She
still couldn't shake the fact that she was going to be sold as some sort of
sex slave. Whenever she looked at her new form, sex was about the only
thing that sprang to mind.

*****************

Back at the Council meeting, it was now late afternoon. The tone of the
meeting had changed slightly.

"So, how well did we keep it down in California," the leader asked. "Do the
other groups know about this. If they do, it throws a completely different
light on it. We may not be able to protect her even if we want to."

"Well, I think we managed to keep a lid on it," Mary replied. "No-one
outside our group knows for sure what happened, but I'll bet that rumors
are flying around. I don't think we'll have too much trouble from the
Kestrels. It's the Hawks I'm more worried about."

"What about the Ravens," someone interrupted. "If they knew she even
existed, they'd be outside the door demanding her head on a platter... and
knowing the Ravens I mean that literally."

"Yeah, but the Ravens are mostly holed up in Vegas. The West Coast is my
patch and it's my job to know exactly what's going on. To my knowledge
there are no Ravens living in California, unlike the Hawks which have quite
a showing."

The leader paused and then looked to another woman, "If knowledge of this
got out. How would we stand? Could we petition to make her an exception to
the rules, based on the circumstances."

The woman thought for a moment, "The Ravens would definitely go against
us. I think the Eagles would be okay, but I'm not sure about the Hawks and
the Kestrels. It would be a close call and I wouldn't want to bet someone's
life on it, which is what we would effectively be doing."

The opening of door interrupted the meeting. Everyone looked around to see
a woman approaching the table.

"Hello, sorry to interrupt," the woman said nervously. Interrupting a
Council meeting was a serious matter. "But Mary wanted to know as soon as
Michael woke up again. I've had a call from the mansion and she just did."

Mary looked at the leader and said, "I really should go and talk to her
right now."

The leader nodded his head. "I agree. But take another Council member as
well," he said as he looked around, his facial expression asking for
volunteers.

"I'll go," Hank spoke out. Mary's initial thought was, "anyone but Hank,
anyone..."

"Okay," the leader said, before turning to Mary and instructing, "Don't
tell her any more than you have to. Explain to her what's happened, but
don't let her know what she is, right," Mary nodded. "Okay, we'll adjourn
until they get back. Oh, Mary. Bring Tina back as well. I think we need to
hear from her now."

*****************

Michael was still lying in bed with her arms handcuffed round the
bedpost. She had constantly tried to shift and shuffle her position to make
herself more comfortable.

At first, she struggled to remember what had happened yesterday, now that
she had been informed that her transformation took place two days
ago. Parts of it had come back to her. She could remember voices and being
moved around, but she had been far too drugged to make any sense of it. All
she knew was that she was somewhere else, probably hundreds of miles from
San Diego.

Strangely enough, she started to feel her telekinetic powers slowly wake
up. "Huh, that's unusual," she thought. Her powers often took a while
longer to wake up. It only then occurred to her that her telekinetic powers
also woke up early last time. She had broken the bathroom mirror with her
powers.

But something felt odd. Although her powers were working, there was
something different. She seemed to have a very hard time projecting her
powers across the room.

This had never been much of a problem for her. Basically, her powers were
line of sight. As long as she could focus them properly, there seemed to be
hardly any limit on distance.

Michael carefully remembered back. She recalled that it had taken all her
power just to break the bathroom mirror. When she was male, she could have
easily broken the mirror. Afterwards, she had tried to break the bedroom
window with her powers to escape, but the glass was simply too tough for
her.

Also, when she had been fighting with Andrew and those two other guys, she
found that although she couldn't use her powers to lash out directly at her
attackers, she could use them to increase her general strength. It was as
if there was some sort of barrier that prevented her from projecting her
powers.

But the really weird thing was that when she was briefly outside the room,
it didn't seem to be a problem. The apparent barrier only seemed to exist
in the bedroom.

Michael wondered if her transformation had something to do with her powers
being different. Her powers seemed to work fairly normally two days ago
when female, but it also occurred to her that her transformation wasn't
permanent then.

Michael tugged at the handcuffs, then a thought crossed her mind. She
slowly reached over with one hand to the opposite lock. She placed one of
her fingers over the keyhole to try to open the handcuff with her
powers. As she did this and she saw her new slender fingers with the long
pointed nails, she was again reminded of her predicament.

She reached out with her mind to open the lock. She discovered long ago,
that if a part of her body was close enough to the target, then she didn't
need line of sight to use her powers. She focussed on the lock, but the
barrier was weird. She had to really concentrate hard, but after a few
seconds, she released the ring of steel around her right arm.

She felt a brief emotion of elation, which soon settled down into a
suspicious feeling. She carefully looked around the room for any cameras or
things like that. It only just occurred to her that maybe they were
watching her so she pushed the handcuff back tight again. At least she now
knew that she could escape whenever she wanted to. Just the mere fact that
she knew she could escape reassured her immensely. It helped to dampen the
feelings of enclosure.

Her curiosity then started to get aroused. "What the hell is going on?" she
thought. What did actually happened two days ago? What is she now?  Is she
really stuck like this for life?  All these questions bounced around in her
mind. But one burning question began to rise to the surface. Do these
people know about her telekinetic powers?

Michael had always kept her powers a secret for several reasons. Firstly,
she wanted to make sure she was never treated like a freak. But secondly,
she knew that powers like hers could be very dangerous in the wrong
hands. She thought that maybe what happened to her could be duplicated and
anyone could conceivably be trained to have telekinetic powers. After much
soul searching, she concluded that what happened to her was an accident and
that mankind was not yet ready for such a responsibility.

But clearly, such powers already existed. She had no idea who these people
were, but their powers seemed incredible. She was always amazed and in awe
of her own power, but hers paled in comparison to theirs.

But if these people were aware of her powers, then they wouldn't have
simply handcuffed her to the bed. They would have done something more
drastic as well, like blindfolding her and using proper hand
restraints. This would have made it much harder for her to focus her power.

Michael wondered if she had given away her secret during her fight with
them. She struggled to remember the details but it all happened so damn
fast. That barrier seemed to stop her from lashing out directly with her
mind in the bedroom. In a way, that was fortunate for them because in the
rage that she was in, she could have easily broken their necks in an
instant. Once she was in the hallway and her powers were in full force, she
was about to use her power to lash out, but she was in too much pain to
concentrate after Andrew pulled her arms away and the guy fell on top of
her.

Michael also noted just how much of a rage she had been in. She had always
suffered from mild claustrophobia, although it had never caused such rage
before. Somehow, the feeling of being stuck in a female body combined with
the feeling of imprisonment had tipped her over the edge. She felt she
simply had to escape. When she initially discovered that her powers didn't
seem to work properly, this only served to increase her enclosed feeling
and make her claustrophobia worse.

Michael then thought that if these people didn't know about her power,
should she tell them? A part of her said that she should reveal her power
to these people, but an even larger part wanted to maintain an
advantage. She hated the feelings of helplessness and if she told them
about her powers, they could be easily negated. She decided that she would
keep them secret until she had further information. So far, they hadn't
told her a thing, so she saw no reason why she should volunteer information
to them.

*****************

Sarah was waiting in one of the side rooms of the mansion. She had spent
the past few hours consoling her daughter. It was bad enough what happened,
but for Tina, the sight of Michael being chased down the hall, pulled to
the floor and sedated, sent her daughter hysterical again.

Sarah tried to understand what Tina was going through. Tina had always been
a strong person, but all her mental stability had crumbled under the strain
of the past few days. She genuinely feared for her daughter, physically and
mentally state.

Sarah also realized just how bad the timing had been when Michael
escaped. Of all people, Tina had been the one to effectively stop
Michael. Although it would have made little difference because the mansion
was so remote, she knew that it might make it so much harder for either of
them to accept.

As she was thinking, Sarah noticed that both Hank and Mary had arrived at
the mansion.  She rushed to greet them.

"Mary. I hear Michael's woken up again," she said.

"Yes. We're going up to see her right now. In fact, I want you to come with
me. A friendly face might help to calm her down."

Sarah smiled, happy that she would be allowed to see Michael again. The
three started walking up the stairs to Michael's room, "Also, we're going
to take Tina back with us to the Council meeting."

Sarah stopped. "What for?" she asked Mary.

"Don't worry. The Council just wants to ask her some basic questions. It's
nothing to worry about," Mary re-assured; although she wished she could
have re-assured herself over that same point.

Sarah's worry now turned from Michael to her daughter. Sarah knew that Tina
would have to face the music over her actions and her punishment could be
quite severe. But she didn't think it would be so quick.


Chapter Eight
=============

Michael was studying the room she was in. Again, she noticed it was very
luxurious. Michael saw that amongst the other items of furniture, was a
full-length mirror and a dresser. However, both now had pieces of cloth
draped over them, covering up the mirrors. Michael guessed that they didn't
want her to freak out and break any more mirrors.
 
After studying the room for the fourth time, her attention was eventually
drawn to herself again. She was in bed, with the covers over her and her
hands handcuffs round a bedpost. However, she could move her head slightly,
so she looked down at her new body. As she stared at her chest and saw the
two large protrusions, she still couldn't resolve the fact that she was now
a woman.

She thought back, this time in more detail, to what happened two days
ago. She remembered standing naked in front of a mirror. "Boy, was I cute,"
she thought. She also remembered how weird it felt when she fingered
herself. Afterwards, she remembered how she thought that she might never
get another chance to find out what it felt like. She now knew that she
would probably get every chance.

As she looked down again, she could feel her nipples hardening at that
thought. Her nipples were long and thick and, just like her old cock, they
betrayed her inner feelings.

Michael tried to shift her position to try to relieve some of those
feelings. Her hands were still handcuffed around the bedpost. For a brief
moment, she considered releasing herself from the handcuffs so that she
could provide some relief to those feelings. She instantly shook herself as
reminded herself that her first priority should be finding out exactly what
had happened to her, not sexual pleasure.

However, she was quickly reminded of the fact that two days ago, when in
her hotel room, masturbating had proved more important than getting
back. In fact, after she started playing with herself, she found it
impossible to stop until it was over. Michel was beginning to wonder if the
transformation was more than just physical. Was she mentally turning into a
sex-starved bimbo? Her whole body shivered at that mere thought

As Michael's patience was quickly wearing away, she heard the door
unlock. When the door opened, she saw Mary, Sarah and a man who she had
never seen before enter the room. Michael flushed with anger. Mary was the
person who had promised that she would be released and had then
subsequently ordered for her to be sedated. Michael's mind considered her
to be the enemy.

But before anything was said, the very first thing that Michael noticed was
how young both Mary and Sarah looked. Two days ago, they both had the
appearance of being around thirty-five, but now, none of them looked to be
older than twenty-five at most. In fact it just occurred to Michael, that
everyone she had seen so far, was in their twenties.

"Hello there," Mary said to Michael, smiling slightly. "Are you feeling
better now."

Michael just nodded, not wanting to upset the situation. She felt so
vulnerable.

"This is Hank," Mary said motioning to Hank. "We just want to ask you a few
questions. Also, I bet you want to know what has happened to you.

"Oh no. I'd prefer to know how my stocks are doing right now," Michael
replied with obvious sarcasm, which Mary found to be understandable given
the circumstances.

Mary sat down beside the bed. "Well, you've been turned into a woman," Mary
started but Michael cut her off.

"No shit," she interrupted. "And I thought these things were fake," she
said with even more sarcasm nodding down to her new breasts. She tried to
hold back, but her anger and bitterness at how she'd been treated prevented
her.

Mary paused briefly. She could understand why Michael was being so
sarcastic. After all, she had no other defense. But she wished Michael
would back off a little, at least while Hank was there. Then she remembered
the tactics she used two days ago to bring her round.

"Michael. You're not helping. Do you want me to tell you what's happened or
not. I can always come back tomorrow," as she got up to leave.

Michael didn't want to concede to Mary, but after all the time waiting, she
was just dying to know what was going on. She couldn't wait another day to
find out.

"Okay. I'll listen," she conceded. "But can't you release these
handcuffs. It's so uncomfortable like this," she said in a slightly
pleading tone. Everyone in the room could see how uncomfortable it was for
Michael. It wasn't only the physical discomfort, but also the fact the she
was forced to lie down in such a demeaning position while they talked to
her.

"Release her," Mary said to Sarah throwing her the keys.

"Actually I'd prefer it if she was kept locked up," Hank interrupted. Mary
glared at Hank making no secret of her contempt for his policy.

"Well, what about releasing one hand," Sarah suggested. "That would be much
more comfortable." Hank eventually gave a conceding shrug.

Sarah used the keys to free Michael's left wrist and immediately handcuffed
that part round the bedpost again. She then helped Michael to sit up in bed
slightly before she took a seat beside the bed and held her left hand in
hers tightly.

"Thanks," Michael said, feeling much more comfortable. As well as being
physically more comfortable, she also felt emotionally better because she
was able to sit up and face Mary and Hank.

Mary sat down on the other side of the bed. "Right. Let's
continue. Physically you're now a woman. The changes in you are one hundred
percent complete. Every cell, organ and chromosome in your body is now
female. You will have periods and you can even get pregnant. Over the next
few weeks, even your DNA will rewrite itself to your new appearance."

"Am I stuck like this now... forever," Michael asked. Although she wanted
to know everything that had happened, that was the one question she wanted
answering first.

Mary paused, not quite sure of the best way to answer the
question. Although becoming a man again was possible, it was unlikely. So,
Mary decided that a firm answer might prove the best for Michael to
accept. "I'm afraid so," she replied.

Mary's answer was not what Michael wanted to hear. She clenched her fists
tightly and scrunched her eyes up as an intense urge to burst out crying
swept through her. She fought the urge with all her willpower. She felt
helpless enough as it was, but she felt that she couldn't allow herself to
start crying in front of these people

"Why," Michael pleaded after she had regained some composure, although her
voice wavered a little. "Why am I a... girl." Now that she had been told of
her fate, she now wanted to know exactly why she was cursed to live her
whole life as a female and who was truly responsible.

Mary took a deep breath; "Two days ago, Tina wanted to... thank you for
saving her life. So she wanted to turn herself into your ideal sexual
fantasy. Unfortunately, something went wrong. We still have no idea how it
went so badly wrong and well... you were transformed instead."

"But why," Michael repeated.

"Like I said, she wanted to thank you for saving her life," Mary said,
slightly annoyed that she had to repeat herself.

"No. Why transform herself. I would have happily made love to her as Tina
instead of... this."

Mary paused again. She didn't think Michael could handle being told that
Tina wanted to get pregnant by Michael. "It's complicated. We will explain
everything in time."

Michael felt that she hadn't been given a satisfactory answer but she also
guessed that Mary was not going to elaborate. Her attention was now turned
towards whom these people were. "Mary, Who are you? I mean, what are you
people?" Michael asked. She wanted to find out exactly whom she was dealing
with.

Mary paused for a second. She had been ordered not to reveal anything to
Michael, but she could tell that Michael was very frustrated, so she
decided she would tell her just a little to ease her mind. Ultimately, she
would only tell Michael what she could probably work out herself anyway.

"I can't tell you everything, but to put it simply, we are witches. We call
ourselves the Kithra. Our group has existed for a long time and we try to
stay out of human affairs."

"What can you do?" Michael asked.

Mary knew for a fact she couldn't tell her that so she brushed the question
aside, "Quite a few things. But one thing we can't do is turn you back."

Michael wanted to snap at Mary for refusing to answer her question again,
but instead she just conceded the fact that Mary wasn't going to tell her
what she wanted to know.

Michael stared blankly ahead for a minute trying to digest what little had
been said to her. "So... I've become my own sex fantasy," Mary
nodded. "But... I don't like girls like this. I'm not into bimbo's. I
mean... I... I... " Michael stuttered as her own words betrayed her
thoughts. She couldn't bear to think that she was really a bimbo now.

"It's okay," Mary reassured her. "First, you're not a bimbo, you're a very
beautiful young woman, and second, you haven't been turned into your ideal
woman. This body isn't the sort of girl you'd want to get married to, or
the sort of girl you'd take home to meet your parents. Try to imagine the
kind of girl," Mary paused to make sure she phrased her next words very
carefully, "that you would most like to... sleep with for one night."

"So you're telling me that it's my fault that I look like this," Michael
blurted out, her voice wavering. It was obvious that Michael was on the
verge of crying. Michael thought that it was bad enough that she had to
exist like that, but to be told that she was responsible for looking such a
beauty was too much for her to bear.

"No. No. That's not what I mean. Your mind picked the form, but it's our
fault entirely that you have to be like this."

"But I don't want to," Michael cried out as tears formed in her eyes. "I
don't wanna be like this," she bawled out as her emotions finally broke.

"There, there," Sarah said as she leaned over and gave Michael the literal
shoulder to cry on. "Come on, let it out. Have a good cry."

Michael cried her eyes out for several minutes, completely unable to
stop. It was the ultimate humiliation for her. She was even crying like a
girl. Everyone remained silent until she regained her composure, which took
several minutes.

"So why am I being kept prisoner," Michael eventually said as she gave a
further tug on her restraint. "Why can't you just let me go? You told me I
could go free."
 
"I know it's hard and I can't explain it all to you right now. If we'd been
able to turn you back, we would have let you go, just as I promised. But we
couldn't."

"So, why don't you let me go," Michael called out, getting increasingly
annoyed that Mary simply wasn't answering her questions.

"Michael," Mary started. "After what we put you through two days ago, you
don't deserve this. Believe me, when I say that I don't want to do this,
but I don't have a choice. You see the changes in you are more than just
physical. Before we can release you, there are some things we need to," she
glanced over at Hank, "be sure of. But I do understand what you're going
through."

"How could you," Michael said sternly finally snapping at the fact that
Mary was continuing to dodge her every question. "How could you even begin
to understand what I'm going through."

Mary smiled, "Michael. There are..." Mary paused as if counting in her
head, "twelve people in this house. Every one of those twelve people has
changed their gender at some point and of those twelve..." again she paused
as if counting, "three are still of the opposite gender, four including
you.

"S-So, this... has happened before then," Michael said slowly.

"Yes. It's not that unusual. Only a few of us decide to permanently change
our gender, but all of us have tried it at some point on a temporary
basis. The point I'm making is that we all know what it feels like; because
we've all been through it ourselves. We're all curious and we've all given
it a try."

Michael looked ahead blankly, still stunned so Mary continued again, "You
know Sarah's daughter Andrew used to be a girl, called Andrea. She and Tina
were sisters until Andrew decided to be a man."

Mary finally decided that she had seen and said enough. She actually found
that she was having a hard time keeping her eyes off Michael's body. She
could tell that her eyes kept drifting down to Michael's new chest, despite
her attempts to stop it. Michael's nightdress did a terrible job of hiding
her ample breasts and Mary simply couldn't help but get aroused by them.

Mary guessed her uncontrollable attraction was down to Michael's pheromone
enhancements. After all, Mary was bisexual and Michael did have a very sexy
body, but it was very troubling to Mary that these pheromones were
affecting her so badly.

Although the use of pheromone enhancements were common within their group,
it was the first time that Mary, or any of them had felt the effect of such
pheromones directly, because up until now, any such transformations
including pheromones, were either on normals, or were temporary
transformations on Kithra. In neither case, would these pheromones affect
another Kithra. But this situation was unique. Michael was the first person
to have these type of enhancements included in her transformation.

It also occurred to Mary that Michael had extracted more information out of
her than the other way around, "Look, you need some rest. We're going to
leave you now. But we'll be back later, okay."

Without saying anything more, Mary got up and motioned for Sarah to leave
with them, but Michael held Sarah's hand even tighter, not wanting to be
left alone again.

"Do I have to leave," Sarah pleaded with Mary.

Mary thought for a moment before speaking, "Michael. Do you promise to
behave from now on."

Michael thought for a few seconds, then nodded slowly, "Yeah. You won't get
any more trouble from me."

"Okay. Then I'll allow Sarah to remove your handcuffs. But, if you're
thinking of trying to escape Michael, then forget it. This mansion is too
remote and if you misbehave again, we can soon get the handcuffs out
again."

Mary turned to Sarah; "I need to speak to you outside first, Sarah."

Michael let go of Sarah's hand. Sarah, Mary and Hank left the room, leaving
Michael all alone again.

*****************

As soon as they were out of the room, Mary turned to Sarah.

"Okay Sarah. She seems to be most comfortable around you, so I'm making it
your job to take care of her. Are you okay with that."

"I'm fine with it," Sarah replied. She was thrilled that she was entrusted
with taking care of Michael. It was not going to be easy for Michael, but
she thought she was best qualified to help Michael through it.

"Good. Here are the keys to her handcuffs. Be nice to her, but don't let
your guard down. I'm also going to post two big guys on the outside of this
room permanently in case there's any trouble. You are not to remove her
handcuffs until they're in place, understand."

Sarah nodded her agreement. Mary and Hank started walking down the hallway,
on their way to Tina's room, finally relieved that she was out of Michael's
sexual attraction.

"Taking a bit of a risk giving Sarah full access to her, isn't it," Hank
said to Mary, also feeling relieved that he was out of the room. It had not
been easy for him either. All the time, he had been trying to demonize
Michael in his mind, but he was finding it harder and harder to do as his
cock got progressively harder and harder. He was equally troubled by the
fact that he could be so badly affected.

"Oh, come on," Mary replied. "What's Sarah gonna do. Organize a
jailbreak. Michael might be trying to act brave, but we both know that
she's half scared to death and so far, about the only person she hasn't
lashed out at is Sarah."

The pair continued their argument until they reached Tina's room.

*****************

Tina was lying on her bed consoling herself. She had barely been able to
stop crying since they found out Michael's transformation had become
permanent.

Early the next day, they all traveled to the mansion. During the trip, Tina
just couldn't look at Michael without breaking into tears. All the time,
she kept thinking, "What have I done?"

Tina also thought back to how Michael had stopped right in front of her as
he tried to escape. Although she knew that he would not get far because the
mansion was so remote, she felt yet more blame that she had been the one to
stop him. She wondered if Michael would ever forgive her for what she had
done.

A knock on the door broke her state of sorrow. She jumped off the bed and
quickly made sure her face was dry before calling out, "Come in."

The door opened and Tina could see Mary and Hank walk through. Tina walked
over to Mary and they hugged.

"How are you?" Mary asked.

"Okay," Tina replied. "Have you seen Michael. How is he?" was Tina's first
question.

"SHE'S fine," Mary responded, putting the emphasis on the fact that Michael
was now female.

"Can I see him, I mean her," Tina asked.

"Not now," Mary replied. She knew that such a meeting would be far too
emotional for both of them. "We need to take you back with us. The Council
wants to have a few words with you," she said.

Tina gulped. She knew this was coming, but she didn't expect is so soon.

"Don't worry," Mary reassured her, seeing the fear in her eyes. We just
want to talk to you.

*****************

Michael was lying on the bed again thinking all over what she had been
told. She still hadn't been given the full picture. In fact, she knew there
was still a lot they were hiding from her, but at least she had found out
something.

Sarah had briefly re-entered the room and made sure that Michael was all
right. She then left, saying that she needed to get some clothes for her to
wear. For Michael, Sarah couldn't get back fast enough. She hated the pink
nightgown she was wearing at the moment.

Michael glanced over to the window. It now appeared to be daytime, probably
in the afternoon. Assuming it was still the same day, Michael guessed that
they must have knocked her out for a good four hours.

Michael felt much more comfortable now that only one of her hands was
chained to the bed. It left her free to stretch around the bed in more
comfort.

To pass the time, Michael slipped her hands under the covers and attempted
to seek out the contours of her new body. She started with her waist. It
seemed so impossibly thin compared to the wider hips. Her whole body was
incredibly firm. There wasn't an ounce of fat to be found anywhere.

Eventually, her hand managed to find her way it's way up to one of her
magnificent breasts. Michael couldn't believe how firm they were; yet at
the same time, they were so soft to touch. They were two large balls of
mass that sat so high on her chest. As she looked down, she could see them
rising and falling with her breathing.

As if on it's own accord, her hand then moved to cup the breast and slowly
caress the nipple, which instantly made it go hard. She felt both shocked
and excited. She felt excitement at the pleasure her actions were
providing, but shock at the fact that she was doing it. Even worse for her,
she was actually beginning to think about putting her hand inside her
nightgown.

Before she could decide, Michael heard the door being unlocked again. She
quickly returned her hand to her side. Soon afterwards, Sarah opened the
door and entered the bedroom. The door was then closed and locked. Michael
could see that Sarah was carrying a bag stuffed full of what Michael
guessed to be clothes.

Michael was pleased that she would soon be out of the nightgown. She tried
to shuffle her position, hoping that Sarah wouldn't notice her very erect
nipples through her nightgown.

"Hi," Sarah smiled. "Let's get those handcuffs off you."

Sarah moved to the side of the bed, produced a key and freed Michael's
right hand. She glanced down at her body and saw her nipples poking
straight upwards. She smiled to herself, but pretended not to notice. She
knew it was going to be something very embarrassing and private that
Michael would have to deal with by herself.

As soon as her hand was released, Michael smiled her gratitude at Sarah
before rubbing her right wrist. Yet again, she was reminded of her
predicament when she felt that her wrist was smaller than it was two days
ago.

Sarah knew that she had a momentous task ahead of her. Although she was
reasonably confident that the Council would allow Michael to live, Sarah
was also fully aware that they would want to see very fast results because
they couldn't keep guarding her for long without arousing suspicion within
the other groups. As she helped Michael to get out of bed, Sarah motioned
her to sit back down on the bed. Sarah then sat down beside her.

"Right," Sarah said, taking a deep breath. "What name do you want me to
call you by from now on?" She knew that going straight in and saying such a
thing would be very tough for Michael and Sarah hated herself for having to
do it, but in her own mind, she knew it was completely necessary. Michael
had to adjust very quickly indeed. At worst, her very survival could depend
on it.

"What's wrong with Michael?" Michael protested; annoyed that Sarah's very
first question was about her name.

Sarah didn't say anything, but instead just waved her hand at Michael's new
body indicating how inappropriate the name Michael is now.

"I've gotta pick a girls name, haven't I?" Michael said in realization. She
didn't like the idea one bit, but deep down, she knew it was
necessary. "What do you suggest?" she asked dejected.

"Well you used the name Michelle in the hospital. What's wrong with that?"
Sarah suggested.

"I didn't use the name Michelle. I used the name Mickey. The doctor must
have guessed I meant Michelle. I... err... wasn't sure if I was really a
guy or a girl then, so I... err... picked a name that applied to both,"
Michael winced as she remembered just how spaced out she had been in those
first few moments.

"It's okay," Sarah reassured, sitting on the bed and putting her arm around
Michael's shoulder, realizing just how painful the memory of two days ago
must have been for Michael. "Well if you don't like Michelle, you can pick
any name you want. It's your choice."

Michael thought for a moment. "No. Michelle sounds fine," she replied in an
even more dejected tone, before she brightened up very slightly. "I suppose
the French pronounce Michael as Michelle, so I guess I'll just have to
imagine I'm French from now on," Michelle joked with a small laugh.

"Michelle it is then," Sarah smiled, pleased that Michael, now Michelle was
able to dig some humor out of it all.

Sarah pulled some slippers out of the bag she had been carrying. They were
pink fluffy slippers and Michelle wasn't too thrilled about wearing them,
but Sarah pointed out that there were probably still some shards of glass
on the floor and carpets, so Michelle put them on.

Michelle stretched around the room while Sarah was preparing a
shower. After stretching her new limbs, Michelle walked over to the
window. She took the opportunity to examine the window that she had been
unable to break earlier. As Sarah was busy with the shower, Michelle
decided to get a closer look at the window lock. Although it was an
expensive lock, Michelle guessed that she wouldn't have too much trouble in
opening it, given the fact that she was able to open the handcuffs.

This served to reassure her further. She still had no idea what was going
on, but she felt the need for an escape plan, if necessary. As she looked
out of the window, she again she got the feeling from the temperature than
she wasn't in California anymore. It was the middle of summer, yet the
climate wasn't the scorching heat it should have been. The time of day was
now late in the afternoon.

"Where are we?" Michelle asked as Sarah entered the main bedroom again.

"We're at a remote mansion, a few hundred miles from Boston,
Massachusetts," Sarah replied.

"Massachusetts," Michelle replied in shock. From San Diego, that was
literally the other side of the country. "How did we get here?" Michelle
said wondering what kind of magic or device could get them all across the
country.

"We hired a jet and flew over yesterday. You were probably too drugged up
to remember."

"Oh... a jet," Michelle said, mentally kicking herself for not thinking of
the obvious things first.

"What," Sarah smiled, half guessing what Michelle was thinking. "Did you
think we 'beamed you up' or something like that," Sarah said laughing
slightly. "We're not that powerful."

"Powerful enough," Michelle said as she laughed back and looked down at her
female body indicating just how powerful these witches were. If she ever
doubted exactly how powerful, then she had two very large reminders right
in front of her.

Although Sarah had been very blunt in forcing Michelle to accept a female
name, there was something about Sarah's manner that made Michelle feel very
warm to her. Michelle was also pleased that she had been able to glean some
information from Sarah. She guessed that teleportation was beyond the power
of the witches, which also pleased her. After all, the less powerful these
witches were, the more even the odds were.

"Come on," Sarah smiled. "Let's get you showered."


Chapter Nine
============

Back at the Council meeting, Mary was about to deliver her report. They had
left Tina in a side room. Mary had tried to reassure her, but Tina seemed
even more scared than Michael about the whole thing.

"Okay Mary. How is she?" the leader asked.

"She's just a scared and frightened young woman now. She's lashing out
physically and verbally because she's afraid."

"What did you tell her?"

"Not much. I told her that she was a now full woman and that the change in
her body was permanent. She wanted to know why she was being held, but I
refused to tell her. I've posted two guys outside her door
permanently. I've also allowed Sarah to look after her. She seems to be
less hostile toward her."

The leader nodded, then turned to Hank, "Hank. What's your assessment?"

Mary looked over at Hank, as he seemed to think before answering. Mary
thought that she might have divulged a little too much information to
Michelle and she prayed that Hank would not bring this up.

"It's hard to say," he said eventually. "She didn't end up saying
much. Mary did most of the talking."

Mary sighed in relief slightly. Hank could have said a lot worse, but she
realized that Hank couldn't say much to his advantage. Mary was just
pleased that Michael hadn't said anything disastrous in front of
Hank. Apart from Michael's outburst when she smashed up the room, things
were going alright for her.

*****************

Michelle was standing in front of the full-length mirror, her knees still
weak from the sight that stood before her. She was staring at herself
wearing a red summer dress, stockings and heels with her hair beautifully
brushed back.

She couldn't believe Sarah had talked her into wearing those clothes. In
fact, Sarah hadn't talked her into it at all. Instead, she had cajoled and
manipulated Michelle into wearing them.

Sarah had done it all so carefully that Michelle didn't realize what was
happening until it was too late. First, Michelle had taken a shower. It had
been an exhilarating experience for her. The play of the water drops of her
new sensitive breasts had a very erotic feel to it. She felt a desire to
touch herself again and she may have done so if it wasn't for the fact that
Sarah was waiting outside.

Afterwards, Sarah dried her hair while Michelle stared at herself in the
dresser mirror, still trying to get her head round the fact that she was
now a blonde bombshell. As her hair dried, it's wavy texture returned. This
wavy feature of her hair seemed to make her hair spread out across her
shoulders as it tumbled down her back to her waist.

As Sarah was drying her hair, Michelle could clearly see how young Sarah
looked. Michelle attempted to ask why it was that Sarah was now a woman in
her twenties, but Sarah refused to answer, simply stating that all her
questions would be answered in time.

It was when it was time to get dressed that Michelle realized how well it
had all been planned. She learned that they had measured up her while she
was asleep so all the clothes would fit. Michelle shuddered a little when
she found out that someone else had their hands all over her new body.

The first items out of Sarah's bag were a white bra and panties. Up until
that point, Michelle had been half expecting to be wearing just a pair of
boxer shorts. She was hesitant about putting on such feminine underwear,
but she instantly realized that she was a woman, so she relented.

Sarah helped her to fasten the bra, before Michelle stretched around to get
the feel of it. It felt weird on her. She had expected it to be a miracle
cure for bouncing boobs, holding them tightly in place. However, although
Michelle decided in the first few minutes that wearing a bra was better, it
wasn't that much better. It was comfortable and uncomfortable at the same
time, if that made any sense.

Michelle also discovered that she was a 38DD cup size. It wasn't quite as
bad as Michelle had feared. Somehow, she thought her breasts were bigger
than that. Sarah explained that because her breasts were so perfectly
shaped and firm, they seemed bigger.

Michelle also discovered just out how lucky she had been for her boobs to
be only 38DD. Sarah informed Michelle that whenever they cast the spell to
turn themselves into a guy's sexual fantasy, 38DD is usually the minimum
breast size. Michelle could have easily ended up with a pair of 46HH's.

Then Sarah pulled some stockings out of her bag. Michelle protested
slightly but Sarah managed to quietly convince her to wear
them. Eventually, Michelle rolled them up onto her legs, just as she had
seen her wife do it. Fortunately, they held themselves in place, because
Michelle had no intention of wearing a garter belt.

When Sarah pulled the next item out of the bag, Michelle almost fell over
in shock. It was a bright red summer dress. Michelle swallowed hard when
she first saw it. She couldn't believe that Sarah had to audacity to even
suggest that Michelle wear it.

"Sarah. There's no fucking way I'm wearing that. I don't care if I am a
girl now. I'm not wearing it, period," Michelle remembered saying. Although
she knew that she would probably end up wearing a dress in time, she felt
that wearing one in her first real hour of living as a woman was very
extreme.

But then Sarah did something very strange. She walked up to Michelle and
whispered in her ear. Sarah told Michelle that if she wanted to get out,
she had to wear the dress. At first, Michelle took that as a threat, but
when she looked in Sarah's eyes, she saw slight fear. Sarah looked round to
the door and kept her voice very quiet as if she didn't want anyone to hear
her say that.

It made Michelle feel very edgy. What was so important about wearing such a
blatant dress? She tried to ask Sarah, but she wouldn't say anything more,
just that it was important for her to wear the dress. Eventually Michelle
felt that she had no choice but to comply.

As Sarah helped Michelle into the dress, Michelle didn't think it would
hold her bust. The straps of the dress looked like thin pieces of string
that barely covered her bra straps. As Sarah zipped it up, Michelle looked
down at herself, to see that the dress seemed to accentuate all of her
curves.

As she continued to look down, she felt her pussy tingle slightly as her
eyes saw a big breasted woman wearing such a garment. She was instantly
disgusted as she realized that she was getting turned on by looking down at
her own body.

She shook herself and tried to walk up and down the room. Walking around in
the dress wasn't too bad for Michelle. It was about knee length and it
wasn't too tight around her legs, but she felt humiliated that she was
actually wearing it.

Finally, Sarah pulled some shoes out of the bag. After the humiliation of
being forced to wear such a ridiculous dress, Michelle was just happy that
the heels, although an inch high, didn't have a pointed heel. Her will to
fight had been systematically sapped away by the successive items of
women's clothing, so she sat on the bed and allowed Sarah to slip them on
her slender feet.

As she walked up and down the bedroom, she felt a weird sensation. She was
now the same height as before. Her transformation had left her very
slightly shorter than before, but with these heels on, she was back to the
same height. Walking in the shoes, although awkward, wasn't too bad. At
least they weren't pointed stilettos.

Then Sarah applied some light red lipstick to her full lips, clipped on
some earrings and then stood Michelle in front of the mirror. As she pulled
off the sheet covering the mirror, Michelle's knees went weak at the sight
before her. Sarah moved to her side to steady her.
 
Michelle stared hard at the gorgeous creature in the mirror as her head
started spinning. She had seen herself in the mirror two days ago and she
thought she looked stunning then. But now, with all the clothes and makeup
on, she easily looked twice as good. Yet again, tears began to form in her
eyes. She wondered if she would ever be able to stop crying.

"I don't know if I can do this," Michelle started sobbing. "I can't live
like this. I just can't."

"Yes you can," Sarah said firmly with her arm around her, looking her
straight in the eyes, via the reflection in the mirror. Sarah's reassurance
eased Michelle's urge to cry.

"Why did you make me wear this dress?" Michelle said quietly. "I look such
a slut in it."

"No. You're not a slut. You're beautiful," Sarah said softly to her
whispering. "Look, I can't explain, but if anyone asks, make out that you
don't mind wearing these clothes. Don't go over the top and say you love it
because they're not stupid, okay."

Michelle was getting ever frustrated because no one was telling her
anything. She was fast losing her patience, but she held back against
Sarah. Although Sarah had just dressed her up like a Barbie doll, Michelle
felt that she trusted Sarah and she thought that Sarah might be the one
person actually on her side.

Michelle thought carefully then said, "Okay, I'll do whatever you say. But
first, tell me one thing. Was Mary telling the truth about this change
being permanent? Can I become a guy again?"

At first, Sarah was going to lie to Michelle. She knew that becoming a guy
again was the least of Michelle's worries now, but as their eyes locked,
Sarah realized that she wouldn't be able to lie convincingly.

"Sarah. I REALLY need to know," Michelle said softly.

Sarah thought painfully before answering, "It is possible, but it's
unlikely."

"But possible?" Michelle asked.

Sarah could see what was happening with Michelle. She was clinging on to
the mere possibility of becoming male again. Sarah wanted to tell Michelle
to forget about being Michael again, but she could see that her emotional
state was very fragile. She needed a reason to live and if that reason was
to become male again, Sarah decided to use it to her advantage.

"Look, being a man again is a long way off. You've got to take thing in
small steps and right now, wearing this dress is the first step."

Michelle hung her head low, before shrugging, then nodding her head in
agreement. Standing in front of the mirror only made her more convinced
that she didn't want to stay like this forever.

Sarah smiled to herself gently. Earlier, when she had fetched the bag of
clothing and discovered the blatant dress inside, she was shocked. She
complained, but was politely informed, that it was those clothes or nothing
and if Sarah couldn't get Michelle to wear them, then someone else
would. That person was someone that owed Hank a favor had Sarah realized
Hank was starting to collect.

At first, Sarah was going to refuse, but she couldn't bear to see someone
else doing the task. Sarah hated herself as she used every trick she could
think of to entice and coerce Michelle, but deep down, she knew that quick
adjustment was essential not only for Michelle, but for their group as
well.

As Sarah watched Michelle examining her new look, her smile broadened. She
knew that Michelle didn't like wearing those clothes, but she also knew
that she would play along. Things were going to be okay.

*****************

Tina entered the Council room very nervously. As she looked ahead, all the
eyes of the Council were upon her as she walked towards the table. All the
Council members had shuffled their chairs round slightly and an extra chair
was waiting for her.

Without a word being spoken, she carefully stepped up to the table and took
the empty chair. Her body was shaking slightly as she looked up to face her
elders.

Although her magical powers were only average and well below the usual
level of power for Council members, she had always looked forward to the
day when she might someday serve on the Council in years to come. But none
of that mattered now. She was here to be chastised for what she did.

"Okay, Tina. Why did you do it?" one person asked. The leader had elected
for one person to question Tina. He didn't want Mary or Hank to do it,
because they would be either too easy or too hard on Tina respectively.

"I-I-I," Tina stuttered. "I didn't think it would do any harm," was her
reply. Mary noted that it was an excellent reply given the
circumstances. She hoped that Tina could keep this up, but before another
question was asked, Tina spoke again blowing away Mary's hopes.

"But it's all my fault. I'm to blame not Michael. I take full
responsibility."

The questioning continued. At each question, Mary felt as if a crushing
blow was hitting her. She could see what Tina was attempting to do. She was
trying to shift all of the blame onto herself in order to deflect it from
Michael. It was understandable given the circumstances. Michael had risked
her life to save Tina's and now Tina was trying to do the same, but it was
hopeless because Tina's punishment and Michael's fate were two completely
separate things. Tina was simply digging herself into a hole.

Mary had known Tina for some years and she had always considered Tina to be
a strong willed woman, but it was pitiful to watch Tina's spirit being
crushed by this interrogation. As the spokesman asked another question,
Mary finally spoke out.

"Look, this isn't fair on Tina," Mary said interrupting the
questioning. "Tina's in such a state right now that she'll admit to the
Lincoln Assassination."

"No Mary, I'm to blame," she called out trying to stop Mary. However, in
the process, she only served to prove Mary's point.

"I agree with Mary," the leader spoke. "This isn't the time. We can do all
this another time. Do you have any questions Tina," the leader asked.

"Can I see her?"

The leader looked at Mary who answered, "Not yet, Tina. I don't think the
time is right. But I've left you Mom to look after her. She's in good
hands. We'll take you back shortly."

*****************

Michelle was sitting down on the chair beside the bed. Sarah told Michelle
that she needed to go away for a short time. What Michelle didn't know was
that Sarah needed a break to calm herself down sexually. Despite being a
heterosexual woman, it appeared that even she wasn't completely immune to
Michelle's sexual attractions.

But a brilliant idea hit her just as she finished dressing Michelle.
Although a protective spell against the pheromones would take several days
to develop, by which time it probably wouldn't be required anymore, Sarah
had thought of a way around it. Instead of providing direct protection, she
had just cast a spell, which would deaden her sex drive for the next few
days.

Hopefully this would allow her to stay much longer with Michelle without
succumbing to her chemical attractions. She decided not to share the idea
with anyone else, because she didn't want to be removed from her position
helping Michelle.

Now that she was alone, Michelle was pondering over what she had
learned. Although Sarah had clearly been instructed not to reveal anything
to her, Michelle had managed to glean some information from her responses.

Firstly, Michelle couldn't decide exactly how powerful the witches
were. The mere fact that they transformed her seemed to indicate enormous
power, but it wasn't quite so clear. Michelle had discreetly asked Sarah
why Mary hadn't saved their lives three months ago, instead of Michael
having to do it. Sarah replied, saying that Mary and the others were not
capable of helping them at the time. Michelle wasn't sure if that meant
that they lacked the power to help them or not, but it clearly showed some
limitations.

Michelle shuffled her position in the chair, attempting to make her poise
more ladylike. It became immediately obvious as soon as she sat down that
she was going to have to get out of the habit of keeping her legs open.

She hated the notion that she actually had to start acting like a woman,
but it was obvious from Sarah's actions that Mary and the other's were
clearly seeking some quick adjustments from Michelle and that was why Sarah
had coerced her into wearing the summer dress. Michelle decided that for
now, she would play along with what they wanted, although she wondered how
far she was prepared to go.

Michelle then turned her attention to the future and to consider her
options. Her biggest dilemma was whether she should inform them about her
telekinetic powers. She walked over to the window again and briefly
examined the lock. Although there seemed to be something odd with her
powers, she knew that she could easily open the lock. Again, she realized
that her powers gave her an escape plan, should she ever need it, but only
as long as they were unaware of her powers.

Michelle also thought about Tina. According to Sarah, Tina was having a
very tough time of things, blaming herself completely for the whole
situation. Although she couldn't be sure, Michelle suspected that her
telekinetic powers were at least partially responsible for her spell being
screwed up.

If that was the case, then maybe Michelle owed it to Tina to let her know
it wasn't all her fault. She felt a little guilty that she was allowing
Tina to blame herself. But another part of her said that she should put
herself first and if she did tell Tina about her powers, then her escape
plan would be completely useless as they would obviously take precautions
against it.

But Michelle wondered what she could do even if she did escape. She guessed
that she could easily get out of the room and the mansion, but what then?
Where would she go? What would she do? She was now a sexpot of a girl, with
no legal identity.

At least Michelle did have some resources, although they were back in Las
Vegas. Ever since she had been swindling casinos, she always had a backup
plan, by putting a stash of money away, buried in the Nevada desert. When
she buried the money, she had several scenarios in mind as to why she might
need it, although they were mostly limited to the casino bosses finding out
about her powers. Being turned into a girl wasn't something she had
considered.

But escaping and running to Nevada had to be a last resort, although it
quickly occurred to her that there were no other options open to her. None
of her friends and family would be prepared to help her because they
wouldn't believe who she was. The thought of family brought a slight tear
to her eye. But it also reminded her that she had been due to phone her Mom
several days ago, which was long overdue. As Michael, she had long been
independent of her parents, but her Mom was a real worrier for her son. It
wouldn't take long for them to alert the authorities about Michael's
disappearance. What would happen then?

*****************

Mary and Hank returned to the mansion with Tina. Although the journey was
only ten minutes, Mary was beginning to get fed up of the constant
travelling when so little was being done about Michael. As Mary saw the sun
beginning to set, it occurred to her that they had debated all day, but
they didn't appear to be achieving anything.

However, Mary didn't want to blow it. Things were going reasonably
well. Mary could tell she was winning the battle. She knew, from the tone
of the rest of the Council, that they were just looking for an excuse, any
excuse to spare Michael. Hank's views were sounding increasingly that of an
extremist who wasn't getting his way.

Andrew greeted her sister as soon as they entered the mansion. Sarah soon
came running down the stairs. Sarah was about to go back to Michelle now
that her spell to remove her sex drive had taken effect, but stopped as
soon as she saw that her daughter was returning.

"How's Michael doing?" Mary asked Sarah.

"Fine," Sarah replied enthusiastically. "She's taken the name Michelle and
I've got her dressed. I think you should see her; she's adjusting quickly."

"Can I see her," Tina butted in. Mary looked at Tina; slightly annoyed that
she wasn't getting the message. It was the third time she asked.

"Tina. I don't think it's a good idea. Your Mom said that she's
adjusting. If that's the case, then you don't want to blow it by upsetting
her, do you."

Tina nodded then looked down so Mary continued, "Look. If Michael,
err... Michelle is calm tomorrow, then I'll ask her if it's okay, right."

Tina nodded her concession. All she wanted to do was say sorry to Michelle
and beg her forgiveness, but she finally realized that she wasn't going to
see Michelle today.

"Are you coming up to your room," Sarah asked.

Tina was initially hesitant. Somehow, the thought of going upstairs, but
being forced to go to her room, while everyone else went to see Michelle
didn't feel right.

"No," Tina responded taking a small step back. "I wanna go for a walk
outside. I need some fresh air. I wanna go to the hill"

Mary looked at Tina. She hadn't been outside in virtually three days. It
would do her some good. But it was getting dark and Mary still wasn't sure
of Tina's mental state.

"Okay, but take Monica with you," Mary said as the motioned for Monica, who
was standing nearby, to come over.

"But I wanna go on my own. I don't want Monica to go with me," Tina
said. "No offence Monica," she said, realizing Monica could have been
offended by her words.

"Tina. You're too distraught," Mary said. "I'm not allowing you to go
outside by yourself."

Again, Tina was forced to nod in concession. She felt bad about the
situation, but it wasn't bad enough for her to do herself harm, although
she could understand Mary's concerns.

Tina watched her mother, Mary and Hank climb the stairs and head to
Michelle's room. Tina felt a tinge of jealousy that they were all going to
see Michelle and she wasn't.

As they moved out of sight, Tina and Monica left the building. Monica had
to first recover her car keys from a secure point. To stop any possibility
of Michelle escaping, Mary had insisted that all keys to any vehicles were
safely secured.

As Monica was driving away, Tina looked back as she saw a light in
Michelle's room. She could just make out a figure walking around in the
room.



Chapter Ten
===========

Michelle was beginning to get horny again. Her nipples were hardening and
she could even feel damp down below. She couldn't understand why this was
happening to her. After everything that had transpired, why would she
possibly feel horny. She was walking up and down the room, trying to get
some relief from these feelings.

It was nearly evening now and although she had only been awake for a few
hours, she had been getting more sexually frustrated as the day wore on.

She had spent every available moment on her own to practice any aspect of
being a woman. Although it disgusted her to do it, she found herself
standing in front of the mirror and working on her standing poise.

She was currently practicing the way girls flick their head to throw their
hair behind them. She was failing miserably. On the rare occasions when it
worked, she would simply cause some more hair to emerge on the other side.

Suddenly she heard the door being unlocked and Sarah walked inside.

"Hi. How are you," Sarah asked.

"Okay," Michelle replied, pleased for the company again.

"I've got Mary and Hank outside. They want to see you again," Sarah
said. She then walked up to Michelle and whispered, "Put on a good act for
them."

As Sarah pulled back, Michelle nodded. She didn't like it, but she realized
that her only ticket out of here was to play the game they wanted her to
play. She carefully attempted to assume one of the feminine poises that she
had practiced in front of the mirror.

Mary and Hank entered the room again. Both were visibly shocked when they
saw how Michelle looked. Even Hank, who had previously been so hostile
toward her, couldn't help but smile at the beauty presented before
him. Even before Michelle's pheromones could take effect, he already felt a
physical attraction for her.

Mary glanced over at Sarah, smiled and gave her a "well done" look.

"How do you feel?" Mary asked, which was the same question she had asked
earlier in the day.

Michelle paused for a moment before answering. Internally, she felt
completely humiliated at being paraded before them like that, but she
intended to tell Mary what she thought they wanted to hear. But Michelle
knew she couldn't go over the top. What she said to Mary had to sound good.

"A bit silly," she said slowly. "I still can't believe I'm really stuck
like this."

Mary was pleased with that answer; it seemed to be genuine. She strongly
suspected that Sarah had somehow coerced Michelle into wearing those
clothes, but as long as Michelle was accepting them, it didn't
matter. "You'll get used to it," she said.

Michelle's first instinct was to snap back, because she didn't want to get
used to wearing a dress. But she bit the inside of her lip as she realized
that she couldn't say anything. Sarah had impressed upon her, the need to
at least appear that she was adjusting to life as a woman.

"I'm afraid that I still can't tell you anything or let you go, but is
there anything you need, then ask. Can I get you something?" Mary
asked. Although there was very little she could actually do, she didn't
want to appear to Michelle to be the complete enemy that Michelle had
obviously cast her as.

"What about my family. I was due to call them on the day that... this
happened. Sooner or later, they'll get worried. What are they gonna say
when they see me like this. They'll laugh."

"That's not something you'll have to worry about," Mary replied.

"How?" Michelle asked. "What are you gonna make them think that I was
always a girl?" Michelle said. Somehow, she doubted that they had the power
to make all her friends believe that Michael had always been Michelle, but
given the fact that she was currently wearing a bra, panties and a dress,
she couldn't rule out anything.

Mary paused. She hadn't been planning to tell Michelle about this just yet,
but she guessed that Michelle could handle it now, based upon how well she
was adjusting so far. "No, you see, Michael Curtis is dead. He died in a
hang gliding accident two hours ago."

"H-How," Michelle asked as her body trembled at this news.

"One of our members transformed themselves into your old self. He went to a
hang gliding club in California today. Soon, your destroyed glider will be
found. A body will be found. The fall will have damaged the face beyond
recognition, but the coroner will make a positive identification based on
medical records."

Michelle had to sit down in a chair before she fell over. This news was
even more shocking. They had effectively killed her off. Sarah walked to
her side and held her hand. Both Mary and Hank decided to keep a distance
from Michelle to minimize the effects of her pheromones.

"Whose body?" Michelle asked.

"I think we 'borrowed' one from the morgue that was similar to you," Mary
responded. "As of today, Michael Curtis is officially dead."

"You can't do that," Michelle called out. She knew that she should have
remained quiet and accepted it, but she couldn't. They had taken everything
she held dear. The only thing she had left was her friends and family. But
now, they had taken that from her as well.

"We had to," Mary responded. "We couldn't have questions about your
disappearance."

"But what about if I become a guy again. How can I go back home if I'm
already dead," Michelle called out without thinking. As soon as she said
it, she realized she had made a mistake. She wasn't supposed to know that
it was even possible to return to manhood.

Both Mary and Hank instantly realized Michelle's blunder as well. Mary
glared at Sarah who could only look away.

"Sarah. I need to talk to you... OUTSIDE," Mary said sternly. Sarah just
looked up, nodded and walked towards the door.

"No, look. You can't do this," Michelle shouted as she stood up. "You've
taken away everything I have. First my body, then my freedom. Now you've
taken the only thing I had left, my identity. You can't do this to me. You
don't have the right," Michelle virtually yelled.

Michelle walked forwards. Mary took it as a very threatening move.

"Stand back Michelle," Mary said sternly, looking Michelle in the eye.

Michelle thought for a minute. Her frustration had burst and she couldn't
take any more. She wanted to break out of the room right now. But she knew
deep down that this wasn't time for it. Grudgingly, she took a step back.

Mary knocked on the door and Sarah, Hank and Mary left the room. As the
door was opened, Michelle briefly thought about breaking out, but she could
see three more people on the other side, including two guys. She knew that
it was hopeless.

*****************

"What the fuck was that," Mary yelled at Sarah as soon as they were
outside. After having placed her trust in Sarah, she was furious with her
at divulging such information.

"M-Mary. I'm sorry," Sarah apologized.

"Sorry. You had no fucking right to tell her that. What else did you tell
her."

"N-N-Nothing," Sarah replied.

"Nothing," Mary replied. "You tell her our secrets and you call it
nothing."

"It wasn't like that," Sarah defended herself. "I didn't actually tell her
anything."

"Well it didn't sound like that," Hank chirped in, his voice extremely
sarcastic, which annoyed Mary immensely. "I'm taking this to the Council."

"Oh, shut up Hank," Mary snapped at him. She was fed up of his constant
moaning. It seemed as if he was twisting every opportunity to his
advantage.

"No. Mary. I won't shut up," he retorted, raising his voice. "In fact, I've
had enough of your crap. When we get back, the first thing I'm gonna do is
push for her to be executed. You know damn well that we can't take care of
her. It's taking up all our resources just to keep her locked up."

"Shhhhh. Be quiet you two," Sarah interrupted. "Any louder and she'll hear
you," she pointed out. They were still only just outside the door.

They both realized their mistake and ushered Sarah down the hallway to
continue their argument. Mary prayed that Michelle hadn't heard the
argument. Although it wouldn't make much practical difference, because she
was their prisoner anyway, it would make it much more awkward if she really
knew the full picture.

But it was already too late. Michelle's ear had been at the door. As soon
as she heard the door lock and the argument begin, she moved over to the
door. She didn't catch the start of the argument. All she heard was Hank
talking about killing her.

When the argument was over, Michelle stumbled backwards and fell back onto
the bed. Her breathing rate increased. "They're gonna fucking kill me,"
Michelle internally shrieked. She couldn't believe it. Up until now, the
worst she had feared was that she would be turned into a sex slave, given
her current body, but it now appeared that she was destined for a worse
fate.

Her breathing increased further, but as hard as she breathed, she couldn't
seem to get air into her lungs. She was hyperventilating. Her feelings of
claustrophobia were sent skyward.

She silently jumped off the bed and paced up and down the room several
times trying to calm down.

Michelle thought about what she could do; what her options were. She
instantly reached a conclusion; there was only one option. If they were
going to kill her then she had to get out of the mansion, NOW. She had an
escape plan, so she quickly decided that she should use it.

She ran over to the window. Although her escape plan had been meticulously
planned, she was now in a state of panic. All she knew was that she had to
get out, in case they returned early to carry out their sentence on her.

She put her hands on the window and attempted to smash it with her powers,
but the same block on her powers was still there. Although she could still
summon her powers, she couldn't produce anywhere near the force required to
break the toughened glass.

Then she remembered the exact details of her escape plan and turned her
attention to the window lock. Without thinking, she put two fingers near
the lock and reached out with her mind. It was tough because of the
barrier, but within seconds, the lock was opened. Michelle hurriedly opened
the window.

She tried to lift one leg up to get out of the window, but her dress
stopped her. She nearly fell over but she just managed to steady herself
with her powers. She knew that she couldn't make any noise or they would
look through the peephole in the door and see she had opened the window.

She calmed down slightly and carefully sat on the window ledge and lifted
both of her legs over. She could now see that she was on the third floor
and it was a sheer drop to the ground. Her powers still were not working
fully. She didn't think she could float to the ground, but maybe she could
break her fall. Without thinking too much more, she took a deep breath then
jumped.

As soon as Michelle jumped from the window, she felt her powers kick in
properly, so she guided herself down, landing gently on the gravel floor
seconds later. Instinct then took over as she just ran as fast as she could
straight ahead for the trees.

It was the second time that she had cause to run for her life as a woman,
but this time it was different because she was dressed as a woman. Her
boobs still bounced around and she realized that the bra, although not
perfect, was at least helping to control them. Her dress and shoes, on the
other hand, were proving a terrible hindrance. Several times, she nearly
tripped over, having to steady herself with her powers.

After she had reached the trees, she carried on running. She quickly saw a
large metal fence in front of her. Undeterred, she ran straight at it,
leaping into the air about ten feet beforehand. Although the fence was some
twelve feet, she easily managed to clear it in a single jump, using the
extra force generated from her mind.

She continued running away from the mansion until she could run no more and
she stopped against a tree, collapsing as she tried to regain her
breath. At that point, she realized that her new body was not designed for
running. A brief shudder passed through her body as she reminded of the one
thing that her body was designed for.

Michelle slowly started to come down from the high that she felt from
escaping. She glanced up and could see the stars that were beginning to
appear in the evening sky. She gave out a soft cry of elation.

Over the next few minutes, her blood oxygen level returned to normal and
the adrenaline levels began to calm down. Although it was the middle of
summer, it was a very cool evening and her body was already starting to
shiver slightly. Michelle noticed that her soft skin seemed more sensitive
as she could feel a cool night breeze on her body. As she began to calm
down, she was beginning to question the wisdom in running away.

Her mind was racing with the various options that presented
themselves. Although she had made a rash decision in escaping, Michelle
knew that she had to put all that behind her. All that mattered now was the
future. She knew that she had five minutes in which to make a decision. She
could go back and hope that either they didn't notice she had gone, or she
could run.

Her heart wanted to run. Her primal urge to be free consumed her. A part of
her was yelling that there was no way she could go back. Although things
might turn out all right, she knew that her life would be in danger, so she
couldn't take the chance. While she was running, she was completely in
control of her own destiny.

But she instantly realized that there was a heavy price to be paid in
running away. Michelle knew, quite clearly, that she would also be turning
her back on her male self. If she ran, the chances of becoming a man again
would fall away to practically zero.

Initially Michelle felt that she couldn't leave and that she had to go
back, so she could be become male again. But it soon dawned on her, that it
was better to be a living woman than a dead man. If she went back, she
faced death.

Michelle couldn't believe it. How could they possibly think of killing her
after all she had done for them? She saved Andrew, Sarah and Tina lives. In
return, Tina transforms her into a sex icon and now they actually want to
kill her! What had she done to warrant that? Her emotions were starting to
turn to anger. Her treatment was causing fury to build inside her. What
sort of insane monsters were these people?

Michelle began to wonder if there was another explanation. Perhaps she
misheard Hank when he said that he wanted to kill Michelle. Perhaps they
were somehow testing Michelle; seeing if she actually had the ability to
escape. If that was the case, then she played right into their hands.

She thought for a few more minutes, but she couldn't make up her mind. Each
side of her was tugging furiously, trying to win the argument. Eventually
she reached one conclusion. Whatever else had happened, she couldn't go
back now. She had to run away, consolidate her position and then try to
find another way to be turned back into a man.

Michelle thought to what Sarah had said when she admitted to her that it
was possible for her to be male again. Even if she did run away, perhaps
maybe Sarah might help her return to manhood. Michelle realized that she
was going to have to forget about the possibility of being Michael again
for the time being, but perhaps in a few weeks, Sarah might help her.

With her mind finally made up, she took a brief sigh; then she started
walking briskly in a direction away from the mansion. She had no idea where
she was. She had no money, no identity and was dressed in the sort of
clothes that make heads turn and jaws drop. But against it all, she
couldn't go back to a possible death.

Michelle remembered that Sarah had told her they were near Boston,
Massachusetts. Even if she did escape fully, she wondered where she could
go. At first, she thought about going back home to New Jersey. Her heart
wanted to go there, but her head was saying no. It would be the first place
they would look for her. Also she had nothing to go back to. Her friends
and family would soon be grieving over Michael's death and she could never
ever convince them of whom she was. As much as it hurt her deep inside, her
family were now lost to her.

She knew that the only place she could go was Las Vegas. She had a hidden
stash on money there. But even better, it wasn't an obvious place for the
witches to look, since Michelle had taken extreme precautions to hide her
visits there.

But all that was in the future. At that precise moment, things were still
grim for her. She had to find her way to civilization, get some presentable
clothes and find some way of getting across the country. She was only five
minutes into her journey and she was already beginning to realize that she
had a very long journey in front of her, in more ways than one. The
physical journey to Las Vegas could take several days. The emotional
journey, if she was truly unable to become male again, could take a
lifetime.


Chapter Eleven
==============

Tina was walking slowly through the woods. By now, it was nearly
dark. Monica was following close behind, keeping a watchful eye on
her. Tina would have preferred to be alone, but she knew that it just
wasn't possible. She could understand why Mary had insisted that she be
accompanied.

They were about five miles away from the mansion. If she wasn't going to be
allowed to see Michelle tonight, then she wanted some peace and
solace. They had just left the car and Tina was going to climb to the top
of a hill. It was a place that had always been a favorite of hers years ago
when they lived in Massachusetts. It allowed her to relax and think
clearly.

It was when doing these things, that she realized how much she missed
Massachusetts. Because of their lack of aging, they had to keep moving
around the country to avoid suspicion. When her sister was turned into
Andrew and she was turned into the new Tina, they had to move away and the
only other places in the country where fellow Kithra of their group resided
were San Diego and parts of South Carolina.

San Diego seemed a good idea at the time, but Tina never did manage to
settle there. She longed for time when she could return to Massachusetts
permanently, but that wouldn't be for at least fifteen more years, to avoid
awkward questions being asked. However, she had been made fully aware when
she accepted the transformation into Kithra, that she would be stuck with
her new body for the rest of her long life and all of the problems it would
create.

As she was walking, thinking about Michelle, she heard something moving in
the distance. At first, she thought it was a rabbit or a fox, running
through the forest, but the sounds were too rhythmic in their stride. As
she listened, she saw a person come into view. At first, all she could see
was a dark red figure stumbling forward. As it came closer, she could see
it was a young woman with a mass of blonde trailing behind her. The person
stopped about ten feet in front of Tina.

Tina looked ahead. There was a partial recognition. "No. It can't be," Tina
thought to herself as she stared at the person in front of her. They each
took a few steps forward.

"M-Michael. Is that really you?" Tina called out, completely shocked,
partially believing that she might be hallucinating.

"T-Tina," Michelle replied as she was equally shocked to find someone else
out here. They were now only several feet apart.

As their eyes locked, a silent unseen communication took place between
them. Michelle felt a sense of anger as she saw the person responsible for
her predicament. Tina felt a sense of immense sorrow as she saw the results
of her failed attempts to get pregnant by Michael. Neither person quite
knew what to do, but at the same time, they flung their arms around one
another.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Tina sobbed as she held Michelle tightly.

Monica came running up to Tina. She had tried to give Tina some space, but
she heard some commotion; "Fuck," was all she said when she saw Michelle
standing there.

"Michael, what are you doing here," Tina pleaded as she pulled back from
their embrace. She was overjoyed to see Michael, but she couldn't work out
what she was doing all alone, several miles from the mansion.

"I-I-I ran away," Michelle said, not sure if she should tell Tina what she
was doing. "Tina. They said they were gonna k-k-kill me. Why would they do
that? I've never hurt them. What did I do wrong?" Michelle pleaded

Monica moved to try to tackle Michelle. As she moved closer, Michelle
simply glared at her with a piercing stare. Monica stepped back. She had
heard about Michelle's strength and didn't want to experience it first
hand. She thought about using magic against Michelle, but she knew that
that would be a futile move. Michelle would be immune to any spell she
cast.

"B-But where are you going," Tina pleaded with Michelle. She couldn't
believe they were actually going to kill her. The rules were just
talk. Tina was only just beginning to convince herself that Michelle would
be safe and that no-one would hurt her.

"I-I don't know," Michelle said as she realized that she had no idea where
she was going. "I just had to get out of there before they... they..."

Michelle glanced over at the woman accompanying Michelle and noticed that
the she was just standing still, with her eyes closed, concentrating.

"What's she doing?" Michelle asked.

"She's calling for help, sending out a message," Tina replied.

"Shit," Michelle cried out. That was all she needed. She had been hoping to
get a good head start on the witches. But she was only a few miles from the
mansion. They would be there within minutes. Things were getting
increasingly desperate.

Michelle pulled away from Tina completely and was about to start running
again, but she knew that it was virtually hopeless. She was miles from
anywhere and they would arrive very quickly. She briefly though about using
her power to hurt the woman that was calling for help.

"Michael, err... Michelle," Tina called out, before Michelle could make up
her mind. Tina wasn't sure which name to use. "Did they really say they
gonna kill you."

"Yes," Michelle replied, hands on her head, trying to think of a way out.

"Are you sure?" Tina asked. She couldn't believe they would actually do
that. Although Tina knew it was possible, she was convinced that Mary would
find some way round it.

"Of course I'm fucking sure," Michelle shouted at Tina. "I overheard that
Hank talking about it."

Tina shocked doubled as Michelle shouted at her. Michelle's words cut
straight through Tina soul like a knife. As soon as she realized that Hank
was involved, her worst fears were aroused. In those seconds, she guessed
that the Council were doubling crossing her. She decided instantly that she
had to do whatever was required to prevent Michelle from being harmed.

"Follow me," Tina said as she grabbed Michelle's arm and led her
away. Michelle stumbled as Tina led her back to Monica's car. As soon as
Michelle saw the car, she knew that it was her ride out.

Tina jumped in the driver's seat. She had remembered that Monica had left
the keys in the car. The area was so remote that it would never be stolen.

Tina reached over and opened the passenger door for Michelle, but Michelle
just hesitated as Tina beckoned. Michelle tried to think why she should
trust Tina. She might just drive her back to the mansion.

"Get in," Tina called.

Michelle hesitated, still unsure. After all, Tina was the person
responsible for her current predicament.

"Look. They'll be here in less than five minutes. Do you want me to help
you or not."

Michelle's mind was finally made up. She looked at Tina and something told
her that she could trust Tina. She quickly climbed in the passenger
seat. Tina then drove away, spinning the wheels as she did so.

*****************

Hank and Mary were continuing with their interrogation of Sarah, attempting
to determine the amount of information that Sarah had disclosed to
Michelle, both consciously and subconsciously.

For Mary, it was a huge disappointment. She had taken a risk in allowing
Sarah to look after Michelle and it now appeared that her plan had
backfired. Her job now was damage limitation.

They had established that Sarah had coerced Michelle into wearing all those
clothes and had impressed upon her the need to appear to be adjusting. It
wasn't quite as bad as Mary had feared. At least Sarah didn't say why it
was so important for her to appear to adjust, or divulge anything really
vital. But the real problem now, was that they wouldn't be able to tell if
Michelle was ever truly adjusting. Even if Michelle did start to genuinely
accept her new life, Hank would simply say that she was faking it, just to
be reprieved.

As Mary looked over at Sarah, she realized that she couldn't blame her for
what she did. Michelle after all, saved the lives of her family. It was
obvious that Sarah would do whatever was necessary to protect
Michelle. Mary blamed herself for this oversight, although she realized she
had little choice at the time. The other two women assigned to Michelle
were not that sympathetic to Michelle's cause.

Mary was about to ask Sarah another question when she heard a call. She
noticed that both Hank and Sarah heard the call as well. But she knew that
the call wasn't an ordinary call. She could hear it inside her head. It was
a telepathic call for help. She instantly placed the source as Monica, the
person who accompanied Tina.

Mary, Hank and Sarah slowly walked into the hallway. They could see that
others were gathering. They had obviously heard the telepathic call and
were questioning what it meant.

Mary called out to a man, "Go and check on Michelle," she said. The man
rushed upstairs.

By now, they could all recognize exactly what was happening. Although it
was a telepathic call, it wasn't a cry for help as if a person was in
danger, but more of a call for assistance. Mary guessed that the source was
several miles away.
 
"Oh my God, what's happened to Tina," Sarah cried, as she realized that the
call came from Monica, the person escorting Tina.

"Go and help her," Mary called to several people. They all retrieved their
car keys, ran outside and climbed into their respective cars, none of them
sure what awaited them.

The man who Mary had sent up to check on Michelle quickly appeared at the
top of the stairs. "It's Michelle. She's gone," he shouted.

Mary was utterly stunned. She couldn't believe it. How could Michelle be
gone? She ran up the stairs as fast as she could and along the corridor to
Michelle's room. The door was wide open. When Mary ran inside, she saw the
three guards looking around bewildered. She instantly saw the opened
window.

"Get out there and fucking find her?" Mary shouted.

*****************

Tina continued to drive at record speed. She knew the roads to take in
order to get away the quickest. Tina knew that getting away quickly was
very important, because her group might be able to use some magic against
her. Although her own magical protection prevented any Kithra from casting
spells against her, there were other methods that could be used, but only
at a close range, so she knew she had to get out of the immediate vicinity.

Once they were on the interstate, Tina guessed that she was finally out of
range and she slowed down to a normal pace, so as not to attract attention.

Michelle glanced over at Tina. She felt a mixture of emotions. Sitting
beside her was the person responsible for her being female. It was because
of her that she was transformed into a sex object. But although she hated
being female, she found that she couldn't hate Tina for it. She knew deep
down that Tina hadn't intentionally done it to her. It was, after all, an
accident.

For Tina, it was equally difficult. She knew the possible fate that awaited
Michelle. But everyone had assured Tina that it just wouldn't happen. The
vast majority would not allow Hank and his supporters to hurt Michelle. But
when Michelle told her that they were actually going to do it and Monica
telepathically called for help, instinct took over. In that moment, she had
to do everything she could to help Michelle.

However, the consequences of her decision were now beginning to sink
through to her. She was in enough trouble for transforming Michelle in the
first place, but the punishment for helping Michelle to escape would be
very severe indeed. Tina knew that the pair of them could be on the run for
the rest of their lives.

She wasn't even sure if they could escape. No one had ever successfully
left their group. But up until now, no one else had experienced the
enormous need to leave that Tina was feeling.

Tina knew that she was making a hell of a commitment going with
Michelle. Even if they were not caught, she would lose all her friends and
family forever. But Tina also realized, that because of her own actions,
Michelle had lost all of her friends and family as well. She also
remembered that Michelle had risked her life to save her entire family. In
that instant, she decided that she would give her own life to help
Michelle, so running away with her was a comparatively small favor.

"So, you grew up around here then?" Michelle said after a few minutes,
trying to get some conversation going.

"Yeah," Tina replied. She had wanted to say something more, but just
couldn't think of anything appropriate.

"Is that... when Andrew was a girl," Michelle said. She glanced over and
saw the surprise in Tina's face.

"Y-You know about that," Tina replied.

Michelle nodded, "Mary told me."

"Yes," Tina nodded. "Andrea turned into Andrew and I was turned into the
Tina you see now, so we had to move away. I never liked living in
California. I've always thought of Boston as home," Tina remarked smiling.

"So why do it, if you didn't want to move away," Michelle questioned.

"It's a long story," Tina replied.

Michelle sighed. "Tina," she said with the tone of her voice a little
sterner. "Ever since I woke up today, no one has told me a damn
thing. Everyone tells me they're acting in my best interests, but no one
says anything. When will someone tell me what's going on."

Tina was silent for a few seconds. Disclosing their secrets to an outsider
was one of the worst things she could possibly do. But things couldn't get
much worse for her than they already were.

"What do you want to know?" Tina said.

"Everything," Michelle replied, her hopes raised that finally she might
find out some real information.

Tina nodded, "Okay. I'll tell you want you want to know," she said, before
speaking aloud, "Now where to I start?"

"How about the beginning," Michelle suggested.

Tina thought for a few seconds, then nodded, "Yeah. I'll start from the
very beginning."

Tina took a deep breath. It was going to be a long story. "Okay. We're
called the Kithra. We're witches and our kind has been around in some form
or another for longer than anyone can remember, but I'm going to start the
story a few centuries back. Back then, we never had any real powers to
speak of, but we were always persecuted and ridiculed. When the New World
was discovered, our ancestors moved to the Americas in hope of finding some
peace."

"Things didn't work out though. The Salem witch trials are a part of
history. But the really sad thing was that most of those killed were
innocent and had nothing to do with us."

Tina took a pause. She was telling the story very slowly, "The big problem
back then, was the amount of time it took for a Kithra to train. I'm not
talking about a few years, but decades, and even after that, they didn't
have as much power as we do today. You see, the hardest part about magic is
learning how to channel magical energy. It could take a lifetime to learn.

"Anyway, back then they found a shortcut. Records are patchy, so we're not
completely sure what happened, but a very old witch managed to develop a
magical spell, which would physically transform a person so that their body
could channel magic as easy as if they'd be training for years. It would
make their body a superconducter for magical energy.

"It made a huge difference. The new breed of witches learned magic faster
than anyone before them because their bodies were so much more receptive to
it. They still looked the same, but under the hood, their bodies were
capable of channeling magic far better than ever before.

"Now, what happened next is important, but I'm going to skip it for now and
tell you why you're now a woman and why can't you be turned back?"

Tina took a long pause for the first time in her story. What she had just
said was recited to her when her mother first told her about witches. The
next part wasn't going to be so easy to explain.

"Our parents tell us about witchcraft from a young age, but it's always in
a joking nature. In a way, they're secretly training us and preparing us,
but they keep the actual magic a secret from us. When we're over eighteen,
they tell us the whole truth.

"We're then given a choice if we want to become a true Kithra. The only
real way to become Kithra is to have our bodies transformed so that we can
channel magic. There are two versions of the Transformation spell. There's
the reduced one, which we use whenever we transform anyone normal. It just
transforms the body, nothing else. Then there's the full version of the
spell, which also changes a person's body so that they can channel magic.

"You see, once we've had the full version of the Transformation spell cast
upon us, we are stuck with that body for life, so beforehand, our parents
give us the option of changing our physical appearance as well. They
transform us a couple of times using the reduced version of the spell, so
that we can make an informed choice.
 
"A few of us decide to change their gender at the same time. My sister,
Andrea was always butch and she jumped at the chance to become a guy, so
she was turned into Andrew just before she was exposed to the full version
of the spell. But most of us want to stay roughly the same, so we pick an
improved version of our own body, just like I did.

"Anyway, two days ago, I was trying to transform myself into your sexual
fantasy. Because I was transforming myself, I had to use the full
Transformation spell; the reduced one just doesn't work on myself. Now,
whenever I cast it on myself, all I have to do is visualize the form I
want. But because I wanted to be your dream girl, I had to cast that part
of the spell on you. That's when things went wrong."

"I didn't just turn you into a woman. I turned you into Kithra, just like
me. That tingling sensation you felt when we got you back. That was your
magical protection kicking in. You're now immune to everyone else's magic
and you can't be turned back." Tina finished.

Michelle listened carefully to every word. Although Tina had told her ten
times more than everyone else had, it still did not explain a few vital
facts.

"But why did you have to try to transform yourself. Like I said to Mary, I
would have preferred to make love to you as you are, not as... this," she
asked. This was something Mary had refused to answer.

Tina started to reply, but she stopped herself. She knew that Michelle
would not like the answer.

"Tina, why?" Michelle pressed.

Tina relented. She would have to tell this to Michelle eventually, but she
decided to start with some more background information and ease into the
answer gently.

"There are less than a hundred members in our group. We are banned from
having loving relationships outside our group. We can be friends, even
sexual partners, but never lovers. It just doesn't work. So we tend to
interbreed a lot, but some of us still choose to have... children
from... other sources."

Tina took another deep breath. That was enough background information. Now
she had to tell Michelle; "That's why I was transforming myself into your
sexual fantasy. I wanted you to... get me pregnant. You would never have
remembered making love to me. You would have remembered making love
to... well," Tina said as she waved her hand at Michelle's body.

Michelle's jaw dropped open, "So you just wanted a stud to get you
pregnant. Is that all I was to you." It was hard on Michelle. Being told
that she would have to spend the rest of her life as a sex kitten just
because Tina wanted a baby wasn't easy to take.

"NO," Tina called. "You mean much more to me than that. That was the
problem. I couldn't make love to you because I didn't know if I could make
you forget about it."

Michelle hung her head in defeat. Neither person spoke for several minutes
as Michelle digested in her mind what Tina had told her.

"But that still doesn't explain why I was being tied up back in that house
and what's all this magical protection for?" Michelle eventually asked, now
wanting to know everything.

"I know," Tina replied. "That's the bit I missed out. I'll explain that
later, but first, let's find somewhere and pull over," Tina explained. It
wasn't easy attempting to tell a story while driving.

"Okay," Michelle said. "But Tina, tell me one thing. Why are you helping me
now?"

Tina looked over again, "Michael... Michelle, look at yourself. I DID this
to you. You saved my life and now I've ruined yours. I don't think I can
ever make it up to you, but I'm gonna do whatever it takes to protect you
and if that means I have to run away with you... I'll do it."

Michelle glanced over at Tina and saw that she was telling the truth. She
instantly felt a little guilty. Sarah was right when she said that Tina was
blaming herself, but Michelle knew that she was also to blame because of
her powers. Tina drove on, looking for a rest point.


Chapter Twelve
==============

Mary was in Michelle's room along with all of the Council members. They
were all there to inspect, for themselves, how Michelle had been able to
escape from such a secure room.

"How the fuck did this happen," asked one member. "This room is supposed to
be secure. Even a Kithra can't escape from this room."

"That's why she escaped," Mary stated as she examined the lock on the
window. "This room is designed to hold witches by negating their magical
powers. If you take away a Kithra's power, they become useless. But
Michelle is no Kithra, or at least not one with any powers. She obviously
has other skills, like lock picking. We've underestimated Michelle's normal
abilities."

"Why wasn't the window alarmed," the leader asked one woman whose
responsibility it was for the rooms.

"Because it doesn't need to be," the woman replied. "I mean, the glass is
bombproof and the lock is... almost pickproof, so what do we need an alarm
for."

The leader nodded, accepting the explanation. It was a long running debate
within their society about the over or underestimation of normals and their
over reliance on witch powers. They had clearly made a mistake in putting
Michelle in a room designed for Kithra.

Another member moved to the window to examine the lock, "We are assuming
that she picked the lock. I mean, what if someone handed her a key? Sarah
perhaps? She was in the room here."

"No," Mary interrupted. "That's what I thought at first. But I've checked
and all the keys are accounted for."

"Mary," the leader asked. "Without being too crude... who the fuck was this
guy?"

Mary was slightly shocked. It was so unlike their leader to openly curse,
but she could understand his frustration. After escaping from a seemingly
inescapable room, Mary was beginning to question exactly who Michael Curtis
was. She just shrugged.

"Have we tried casting a Vision spell to see what happened outside,"
another person asked.

"It won't work," someone pointed out. "She's Kithra remember. You can only
cast a Vision spell when at least one normal is present."

"So what do we do?" yet another person asked.

"Simple," Hank chirped in. "We get out there, we find her and we kill her."

*****************

Tina and Michelle were now at a secluded rest point. Tina knew that they
were now well out of range of her group's ability to use magic against her,
which allowed her to stop and explain things better to Michelle. Tina had
just started the rest of her story.

"When our ancestors discovered the secret of magic, things began to
improve. They were able to develop their powers. They could use them to
hide and to make people forget what they saw. It was a turning point. The
persecution against us stopped.

"Over the years, they refined all of their spells, including the
Transformation spell. Today, it not only allows a witch the ability to
channel magic, but also does a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff. Even if a
new Kithra never learns magic, their body doesn't age or grow old.

"But a few decades later, as our numbers grew, we ran into a big
problem. The powers of all witches started to slowly diminish. It took a
few years for them to work it out, but it turned out that only a limited
number of people in the world could be Kithra. It seems that there's a well
of magical power and like any normal well, if too many people drink from
it, it dries up. The maximum amount of witches at the time was around four
hundred.

"The only solution was to strictly limit the number of witches. Now that's
easier said than done, but there were already too many Kithra. Because of
the huge power that a Kithra had, it wasn't something that any of them
wanted to give up willingly.

"A civil war followed. Most of this went completely unknown to the rest of
the world, but hundreds of us were killed in a matter of a few
months. Straight away, the number of Kithra dropped to below four hundred
so all their powers returned to full, but the killing didn't stop. Because,
in the future, Kithra numbers would have to be strictly limited, the
fighting continued as to whom would have control over this. We split into
four factions.

"The war continued steadily over the years, with each faction developing
more deadly spells to use against each other. The older witches found that
they were able to defend themselves against offending magic fairly easily,
but new members had no protection. Numbers were dropping even further. We
were nearly making ourselves extinct because all new Kithra were being
picked off almost instantly.

"Then, one year, a neutral member developed an addition to the main
Transformation spell. When cast for the first time to transform someone
into a witch, it would grant them innate magical protection. They would
become immune to all other witches spells from the very first minute of
being Kithra. It would protect that witch from virtually any spell, with
healing spells about the only exception. He gave the secret to all of the
factions at the same time.

"The war continued for a little longer, but all sides realized the new
problem. Since they couldn't use magic against one another, they had to
resort to conventional means to kill one another. Somehow, they realized
just how silly they had all been. A truce was soon declared.

"However, the addition that grants a new Kithra innate protection has
always remained even to this day. This means that once a person it turned
into Kithra, they can never go back. They are stuck with that body for
life.

"The factions settled down. They agreed that each group should be
responsible for maintaining their own numbers and each group must keep
their numbers below one hundred. The original factions were called the
Falcons, which is our group, then the Eagles, the Kestrels and the Hawks,
all the names of birds of prey.

"Sometime later, another hard line faction split away, The Ravens. But by
then, we had managed to use our magic more efficiently, so the total number
of witches could now be five hundred. So each group must still keep their
numbers below one hundred with no exceptions."

Michelle had listened intently while Tina told this part of the story, but
now interrupted, "So are you saying that your group is... full up. Is that
what the problem is?"

"No." Tina replied. "There are ninety members of the Falcons. The truce
that had lasted for so long broke down about twenty years ago. Over thirty
members of our group were killed, including my father. Only now have our
numbers returned to normal levels."

"I'm sorry," Michelle said. She had always been told that Tina's father had
died in an accident.

"It's okay," Tina reassured. "It happened when I was young and I'm told
that his death was the most meaningful. It brought in the Eagles, who
helped us out and saved us. But after it all ended, our group was the
hardest hit."

"So if there's room in your group, what's the problem then?" Michelle
asked.

Tina took another deep breath; "It was also agreed long ago, that this
secret must never come out. We might not all agree on everything, but all
the groups are agreed on one thing... we must protect our secret... at any
cost."

"So, they agreed that no person that hasn't been raised with magic in mind
from birth, must NEVER be allowed access to magic... whatever the
circumstances. All the groups must follow this to the letter."

"So what are you saying?" Michelle asked.

"It's simple. You're Kithra now. In less than a year, you'll be able to
transform people. You'll be able to create new witches and those will be
able to create more. If you do that, then the magical well will dry up. If
that happens, you could end up destroying our very society."

Michelle was now just beginning to understand what was going on.  "B-But I
wouldn't do that," she stuttered.

Tina looked deep into Michelle's eyes, "I believe you. I really do and so
do many people in our group. But it doesn't matter. Our laws say that you
should... be... killed..."

Michelle gasped. It was fortunate that she was sitting down because her
whole body trembled and went weak. Although she had guessed that her life
was in danger, to hear this from Tina was the final straw.

"You're not serious. Can't you... make an exception," Michelle suggested.

"Not according to the laws. They're absolute. No 'normal' can ever be
allowed access to magic. No exceptions."

"B-But that's evil. That's murder," Michelle protested.

Tina just nodded. "I know. But they don't think it's evil. You see we live
a VERY good life. We can use our magic to give us all the money we need. We
never grow old. We're always young and beautiful and we hardly ever die
below one hundred unless another witch kills us. Basically, we have heaven
on Earth and most of us will do anything to protect that," Tina paused,
"and if that means allowing an innocent person to die... they'll let it
happen."

Michelle hung her head low. Tina just said nothing, allowing Michelle to
think about what she had said.

"So, what does all this mean for me. Can I ever be a guy again?" Michelle
asked after a prolonged pause.

"It's possible," Tina replied which caused Michelle's mood to brighten up,
"but it's unlikely," which shattered it again.

"Explain," Michelle demanded.

"Okay, there are two ways to become a guy again. The first way is to learn
magic. You'll still need training, but that's not hard. After about six
months, you'll be able to transform yourself, just like I can."

"But there's a catch," Tina said. Michelle guessed that there had to
be. Tina continued, "If you were to transform someone else, the
transformation would be permanent, but if you ever transform yourself, it's
purely temporary. Because your ability to channel magic is keyed to this
physical form, then as soon as you deviate from this form, any powers you
have will start to diminish. Once your powers disappear, you'll revert back
to this form again and your powers won't return for months. So you can
transform yourself, but not for long."

"How long?" Michelle asked.

"It depends on how far you want to go. If you want to turn yourself into
another woman, you should be able to maintain it for days, maybe even
weeks, depending on how radical the change is.

"But what if I want to be a guy"

Tina looked down and sighed, "To be a... genetic male, you've got to change
your whole body. It takes enormous power just to maintain that form. If you
don't cast any other spell, you can probably be a guy for five or six hours
per week."

"Six hours per week," Michelle shouted. "That's no fucking good to me," she
snapped, thinking that perhaps she could have become Michael again
semi-permanently. But six hours was virtually useless if she wanted to live
an entire life as a man. However, she quickly realized that she shouldn't
get so cross with Tina, "Sorry. It's not your fault," Michelle said.

"No. You're wrong. It IS my fault. You'll probably hate me for life."

"Oh Tina," Michelle called as she put her hand on Tina's, "How could I ever
hate you. I know this was an accident now. I don't blame you," she
reassured Tina. Michelle began to feel even more guilty as she guessed that
her own powers were responsible again.

Tina smiled, happy that Michelle bore her no malice, although she doubted
that she would ever be able to forgive herself for the pain she had
inflicted on Michelle, regardless of whether Michelle blamed her or not.

"What's the other way?" Michelle asked interested. She had a feeling from
the way that Tina was talking that the second option wasn't much better
than the first.

"There is a holy time for witches. Call it Halloween if you will, when the
power of witches reaches a peak. We call it the Spectacle. At this time,
it's possible for witches to link together strip away your magical
protection. Then we could turn you back into Michael again permanently. It
hasn't been done in decades, so I'm not sure if it will even be possible
now, but it's the only other option."

Michelle immediately brightened up a little, "Well, Halloween is only a few
months away. I think I can live like this for a few months."

"No," Tina interrupted. "31st October is the time normals celebrate
Halloween. It's not the real Halloween for us."

Michelle was again brought back down to Earth with a thud. She cursed
herself for thinking that it could have been that easy. If it had been that
easy, Tina would have mentioned it earlier, "When is it then?" she
asked. She had an awful feeling that Tina was going to say something like
"last week" and she would have to wait a full year.

"It doesn't happen every year. It's based on an astronomical event."

Suddenly a year was starting to look much more appealing to Michelle, "When
is it then?" she repeated.

"It happens around every eighteen months," Tina stated.

"And when is the next... occurrence?" Michelle asked. She could tell from
the torturous way that Tina was drip-feeding the information that it would
not be any time soon.

"Well, you know when you saved our lives three months ago. We were on our
way to celebrate the event then. I'm sorry, but the next Spectacle is
fifteen months away, ironically around Halloween next year"

Michelle just hung her head in defeat again. That meant that Michelle would
be forced to live as a woman for over a year.

Michelle said nothing, so Tina continued, "To make things worse, it has to
be done at our holy site where the other groups would be present. So, we
would have to tell the other groups about you. If we do that... your life
might be put in danger."

"What a fucking choice," Michelle said. "Eternal womanhood or risk death
just for the chance of being a guy again. I wish I'd never asked."

There was another lengthy pause as Michelle's mind attempted to digest the
new information. Again, Tina remained silent allowing Michelle to think.

"So what happens. If I can't be a guy again and your bunch want to kill me,
what do I do now?" Michelle asked.

Tina thought carefully for a moment as she tried to think rationally. Tina
was beginning to question that her group really intended to hurt
Michelle. Doubts were creeping into her mind that running had been the best
thing to do.

However, Tina knew that the past could not be undone. They had made a split
decision and now they both had to live with the consequences.

"That's up to you," Tina eventually replied. She was trying to leave the
full decision with Michelle. Tina felt a little cowardly at that, but
realized that it was a decision that only Michelle could make fully. "We
can go back to the mansion and I'll try to smooth things over, or we
can... run."

Michelle started ahead blankly for a few minutes, attempting to balance all
the arguments. She spoke after a few minutes. "I'm not sure I can go back,
even if things are okay. That Hank said he wanted me dead. But how will I
manage on my own," Michelle complained, realizing that she had very few
options.

"You won't be on your own," Tina reassured as she took Michelle's
hand. "I'll be with you all the way. I'll take care of you and I won't let
anyone hurt you."

"Won't they be able to track us down using magic?" Michelle asked.

"Not easily. We should be safe as long as we stay well away from them,"
Michelle replied.

Michelle thought for a moment. Running away like that hadn't been what
she'd planned. But as she tried to contemplate everything that had
happened, she realized that she had little choice but to keep on running.

"I can't go back," Michelle decided, then paused slightly. "It looks like
I'm a girl on the run now," Michelle said as she smiled slightly.

"Come on, we need to put some more distance between Boston and us," Tina
said as she started the engine and drove back onto the interstate.

*****************

"Mary. I SWEAR I had nothing to do with it," Sarah begged to Mary.

"Then how else did she escape," Mary interrupted.

"I don't know," Sarah pleaded.

Mary looked closely at Sarah. She could see from the look in her eyes, that
she was telling the truth. She might have revealed some information to
Michelle, but Mary was reasonably sure that she didn't help her to escape.

Mary sat down beside Sarah sighing, "I don't know. This whole situation is
getting worse. Why the fuck did she try and escape?"

"Do you think it's because I forced her to wear that dress," Sarah
confessed. She was feeling guilty that she had pushed Michelle so hard, but
at the time, she though it was the best thing to do. After all, there was
nothing Michelle could do; she had to accept things. Escape was impossible,
or so everyone though.

"No, it's nothing to do with that dress. She heard us talking in the
hallway. When she thought we were going to kill her, she escaped," Mary
concluded, answering her own question. "I would have done the same," Mary
pointed out.

However, Mary was aware that although she would have done the same as
Michelle, she wouldn't have been able to break out of the room, despite
being a very powerful witch. But if Sarah didn't help Michelle, then how
did she escape. The locks on the windows were the best money could buy. Was
Michael Curtis some sort of expert jewel thief? No architect could have
picked those locks.

"What are the others saying," Sarah asked. She knew that Michelle's escape
would not have earned her any new friends within the group.

Mary sighed again, then replied, "Hank's loving it. Up until now he was
restrained, but now Michelle's given him all the ammunition he needs. He's
now calling for her to be shot on sight."

"B-But they wouldn't actually do it would they?" Sarah pleaded. "I mean,
all this about killing her. It's just talk, isn't it?"

Mary looked Sarah in the eyes and said, "Before she escaped, yes it was
just talk. Hank was just blowing hot air. Even when we were outside
Michelle's room and he called for her to be executed; he was just kicking
up a storm. But now that she's escaped right under our noses... it's put
people on edge. I still don't think we'll hurt her, but... it's made
other's think twice."

"I won't let that happen," Sarah called out defiantly.

"Neither will I Sarah," Mary reassured her. "It'll be okay as long as we
get her back quickly. If you know anything Sarah, please tell me. It's for
the best."

"I'm sorry Mary. I wish I could help, I really do..."


Chapter Thirteen
================

Tina drove for several more hours, until late into the evening. They soon
passed out of Massachusetts and into New York State. Michelle kept seeing
road signs that she recognized. She knew that New Jersey was only a few
hundred miles away. There was a part of her that wanted to force Tina to
drive there now, so that she could be with her family.

But she knew, deep inside, that such action was impossible. New Jersey
would be the first place the Falcons would look and also, there was nothing
there for her. Although her family were now probably grieving over the loss
of Michael, Michelle knew that if she turned up, they would never believe
her. They would simply call the police, believing she was a mad woman.

To pass the time and attempt to forget about her home, Michelle kept
continually digesting everything that had been said to her. It was a lot
for her to take in all at once, so she asked Tina some more supplementary
questions for confirmation.

To sum it all up, she was now a witch, just like all the others back at
that mansion. But because of some ancient law, her mere existence as a
witch posed a threat to all other witches. Therfore, some of the groups,
although not completely evil, were definitely hard line and were quite
prepared to sacrifice Michelle in order to safeguard their lifestyle.

She also found out, that Tina's group, were for the most part sympathetic
to Michelle's cause, especially since she had saved the lives of three of
their members. However, a certain section of the Falcons, namely Hank and
his supporters, felt that they couldn't afford to attempt to protect
Michelle, because their numbers were still suffering from a battle some
decades ago. If the other groups discovered that the Falcons were harboring
an illegitimate witch, it would give them both the excuse and desire to
wipe them out.

Apparently, Hank had been the person whose fighting actions saved the
Falcons from being killed off twenty years ago, so although the majority of
the Falcons do not share his opinions, they all feel indebted to him and he
is given a certain amount of leeway in his actions. His very presence, on
the Council of Falcons tends to make the other groups think twice and all
of the Falcons know that. He's considered a loose cannon that no-one wants
to fix.

Michelle had also gained some basic knowledge of the internal politics of
the witch culture. Tina's group, the Falcons were fairly liberal. The
Eagles were peace loving and wouldn't hurt Michelle, but the other three
were a serious problem because they were increasingly hard line, especially
the Ravens. Although none of these groups went looking for trouble and
tended to stay out of the way, they were ruthless in their actions and
would consider killing Michelle to be an obligation.

She also discovered that the witches tended to live a good life. They
didn't get involved in the affairs of normals, preferring to enjoy
themselves. Although they could use their powers to dominate and rule, they
usually didn't do that, mostly because they didn't actually gain anything,
except possible exposure.

Michelle had also asked supplementary questions about being a man
again. Apparently, she would, after a time gain the ability to turn herself
back into a full male, but only for a few hours per week, assuming she cast
no other spells.

That wasn't much good, but there were alternatives. She could simply
transform parts of her body, in effect remaining female from the waist down
but just having a male appearance. However, because her current appearance
was so completely feminine, even that change would be quite radical, so
Michelle would be lucky to spend any more than two days per week in a male
body.

There was also more bad news. Her ability to channel magic was keyed to her
current physical form. The main Transformation spell was designed to make
sure that a witch's body never deviated from that form, in any detail and
that included things like hair and fingernail length.

If she attempted to cut off her long hair, it would merely grow back to
waist length within a few days. The same would apply to her nails and
everything else. Although she could attempt to continually cut her hair and
nails everyday, it would be a huge sap on her magical power and would
severely hamper her ability to channel magic.

After she had learned magic, she could transform herself to make her hair
and nails shorter and these changes could last for a while, but it would
still be a temporary measure.

Apparently, any deviation from a witch's 'natural' form puts a drain on
their magical energy and such energy can only be recharged in their natural
form. Sarah, Mary and Tina's grandparents still look like twenty-five year
olds for most of the time, but because Sarah is supposed to be a mother to
Tina and Andrew, she ages herself while in the company of others and
reverts to her natural youthful look while alone.

Tina said that the Council had been going over plans for daily haircuts to
limit Michelle's potential power, but had held back for the time being as
there was little point, because Michelle would not be casting spells for
several months at the earliest.

At that point, Michelle had to ask Tina a question. She wanted to know how
old Tina was. After learning the information that Kithra do not age,
Michelle was wondering if Tina was really an eighty-year old
woman. However, Tina reassured Michelle that she was, in fact in her mid
twenties, as her appearance dictated. It was usual, in their society, for
new Kithra to live as normal lives as possible, with parents still fully on
the scene, up until around thirty-five. After all, they had plenty of time.

Then Michelle diverted her attention to her own powers. She thought that
she really should tell Tina about her telekinetic abilities, but something
was still holding her back. After three years of keeping them secret from
everyone, it was so ingrained within her personality to keep them secret,
even from Tina. She though that she should keep Tina on a 'need to know'
basis. But, she decided that if everything panned out over the next day or
so, she would reveal her power to Tina.

There was one awkward moment, when Tina asked Michelle how she had
escaped. Michelle stuttered slightly, before saying that the window hadn't
been locked fully and that Michelle had been able to open the window and
climb down. Michelle could see that Tina didn't completely believe her, but
didn't want to call her a liar. Michelle knew that this point would come up
continually unless she thought of a better explanation.

Eventually Tina suggested that they find a motel for the evening. Tina had
to do this, because Michelle's chemical attractions were driving her wild
with desire. Tina had deliberately put the air-conditioning on to keep the
car cool and thus reduce the effects, but she was beginning to smell her
own sex and she knew that Michelle would soon guess what was happening.

Even without Michelle's pheromones, Tina knew that she would have no
trouble making love to Michelle in her current form. Although she was
mostly interested in guys, like most of the Kithra, she had become bisexual
since her transformation because she now had the ability to become male for
short periods of time. But she felt that making love to Michelle now would
be taking advantage of her situation and that Michelle wouldn't have much
choice in the matter. It would be like raping her. So she made a promise to
herself that she wouldn't let it happen until Michelle was ready for it.

As it turned out, Michelle could detect the smell of sex in the air, but
she believed it was her own. Ever since she had first awakened that day,
she had felt a mild sexual excitement running through her body, which
seemed to grow throughout the day. But since escaping, the feeling of
excitement had grown into a light sexual craving. It was beginning to worry
her because she couldn't explain it. After all that had happened, how could
she possibly feel horny?

She wasn't sex starved or anything like that. She didn't feel like a sex
craved nymphomaniac, but she felt a definite desire for something, more
like a hunger. She continually tried to cross her arms and inconspicuously
attempt to knead her nipples to provide the relief they ached for, but it
did little good. If anything, it just made her feel more frustrated. She
was very relieved when Tina suggested they find a motel, so they pulled
into the next available one.

As they pulled into the parking lot, Michelle allowed Tina to sort out the
room details. At first, she was afraid that Tina might telephone the
Falcons and report her position. She instantly realized that she had to
stop such feelings of paranoia. She knew that she would have to start
trusting someone eventually and if she couldn't bring herself to trust Tina
now, she might as well give up.

When Tina returned with the room key, Michelle discovered that she would
have to walk some thirty feet to the door of the room. Dressed as she was,
that thirty feet seemed like a hundred miles. There was a diner across the
parking lot and as soon as she closed the car door and started walking, she
was sure that she could feel some eyes upon her.

When they were inside the room, Michelle felt the first thing she had to do
was get out of her dress. She hated wearing it. She tried to reach behind
and unzip it, but she couldn't manage it. Seeing her frustration, Tina
stepped over and unzipped it for her. As the garment fell to the floor,
Tina found that she was unable to tear her eyes away from Michelle's body.

Whenever a prospective person is transformed into Kithra, they effectively
get to choose their own body, right down to the small details. However,
they are given very strict warnings about going over the top because they
will have to live with their new body for the rest of their lives. They
spend many hours, going over the fine details with the person that will
transform them. Therefore, they all good look, but none of them look as
stunning as Michelle.

Tina was no exception to this. Before her transformation, she was a very
ordinary nineteen-year-old girl with glasses. At the time of her
transformation, Tina preferred the refined look, so her new body was
slightly fuller with 36C breasts and a much more athletic body. Tina had
been perfectly happy with the new self.

Over the years, Tina had occasionally turned herself into a sex goddess
with a voluptuous body, much like Michelle's. She knew it could be fun for
a few days, watching all the guys drooling over her, tripping over
themselves and rushing to open the door for her. But she couldn't begin to
imagine the problems involved in living like that permanently where the
guys look no further than the bust line. Tina knew this was a problem
Michelle would have to get used to by herself. Tina could only offer her
support in that matter, but little else.

Tina's thoughts were broken when Michelle walked away and turned
around. Tina looked at Michelle in her underwear, which only made her own
arousal grow. She could see that Michelle was looking down at her
breasts. Suddenly Tina noticed that Michelle's nipples were poking straight
out. Even her bra couldn't hide the fact they were rock hard.

"Tina," Michelle asked looking up with an awkward expression on her
face. "I have a question."

"Yes," Tina replied.

"Erm... it's err... kind of embarrassing," Michelle said, finding it
difficult to phrase the question.

"What?" Tina asked.

"It's... err... just that... I-I've been so... horny today," Michelle said
embarrassed, going slightly red.

Tina's eyes widened slightly. Although she remembered the pheromone
enhancements, the other enhancement had slipped her mind. Because these
enhancements were only temporary, she was hoping that she wouldn't have to
tell Michelle about them. It seemed one thing too many for Michelle to
handle. But Tina realized that it was bothering Michelle.

"Yeah. That's normal," she replied, thinking quickly. She thought that
brushing it off might be the best approach. She didn't want to hide
anything from Michelle, but she believed that it was in her best
interests. She could understand that being turned into a woman was bad
enough, but finding out that she would be a horny sex magnet would probably
be too much.

"Normal?" Michelle asked.

Tina nodded. "It's a side effect of the transformation," Tina said
truthfully, although she neglected to mention that she was responsible for
that particular side effect. "You'll be horny for the next week or so. But
after that, you'll be fine. You'll have a normal female sex drive."

"S-So I'm not turning into a bimbo then," Michelle said, seeking
reassurance.

"No. Aw, did you think you were," Tina said, walking up to Michelle until
she stood right in front of her. She could now understand why Michelle was
so worried about feeling horny.

Michelle nodded, "Yeah. I err... thought that maybe because I looked so
good, that I err... might be turning into a slut."

"No. It's just a side effect, nothing more," Tina said, taking her hand.

"So... err... what do I do now. I mean, how do I... err... stop feeling
horny?" Michelle asked.

As Michelle was asking that question, she was half thinking that Tina would
suggest taking an aspirin or something. But as soon as she completed her
question, she realized that there was only one way to truly satisfy sexual
cravings and Tina knew it as well. Their eyes locked together in
silence. They were standing right in front of one another, less than a foot
apart and an invisible force pulled their lips closer together until they
finally touched.

The next few minutes were a complete blur to both Tina and Michelle. Before
either of them could even think, they were both on the bed tenderly kissing
and touching one another.

Before she could do anything, Michelle found herself lying on her back as
Tina straddled her stomach. Tina's hands found their way to Michelle's bra
and her palms rubbed Michelle's hard nipples through her bra.

Michelle groaned involuntarily. Her body had been strained to the point of
sexual frustration. She had no idea what Tina could do to help her, but at
that point, she didn't care. She just wanted Tina to keep doing what she
was doing.

Tina sat up and slowly unbuttoned her blouse. Although Michelle was in her
underwear, Tina was still fully clothed. Tina took her time with each
button, teasing Michelle to the limit. Michelle had been long dreaming of
the time when she would finally see Tina in all her naked female glory. She
never imagined that she would also be a naked female

In a matter of minutes, they were both naked and cavorting on the bed. Tina
was in awe of Michelle's sexual body. In all her years as a witch, she had
only made love to other Kithra. Because of that, her partners could be in
several guises and she had often made love to the bodies of various movie
stars and other famous people. But there was always something special about
making love to another Kithra in their natural form.

Tina also had to marvel Michelle's natural form; with her soft curvy body,
her full lips and incredible breasts. Her body was truly perfect.

Tina resumed her position of straddling Michelle's stomach. Smiling
devilishly, she put her right down to Michelle's groin. After a little more
teasing, she inserted first one, then a second finger into Michelle's wet
hole, relieving the craving Michelle ached for.

She then rested her own groin on the back of her hand, then slowly, Tina
started pumping her whole body in and out.

Michelle, who was lying on her back, could do nothing but allow Tina to
finger fuck her. Each thrust from Tina elicited an involuntary gasp of
pleasure from Michelle.

As Michelle's hands moved to caress her breasts, her pleasure level was
sent skyward.

"Oh God," she cried as Tina ruthlessly pumped her as Michelle's groans grew
louder. Michelle tried to stay quiet, but she couldn't. It was like a
reflex reaction. Every time Tina's fingers pushed into her hole, she felt
compelled to gasp.

"Oh God," Michelle repeated a few minutes later as she felt a familiar
sensation; a sensation that she had felt two days ago in her hotel room.

"I think I'm gonna come," Michelle cried as she felt an approaching
orgasm. Part of her wanted to resist, not wanting to accept that most
feminine thing. But although she easily had the physical strength to stop
Tina, she couldn't do it. Her body wouldn't let her. She had to let Tina
fuck her.

Tina didn't let up. In fact, she pushed harder and deeper, using every
method she could to push Michelle over the edge.

"Oh God," Michelle cried one last time as she reached a peak and the first
wave came crashing down upon her. Michelle's whole body shook as she cried
out. Michelle tried to stop herself from screaming, but it was
impossible. She couldn't control herself.

Tina still did not let up. She continued to fuck Michelle relentlessly,
thrilled that she had been able to provide such pleasure for Michelle. Just
as Tina saw that Michelle was beginning to come down from her heights, Tina
renewed her efforts and pushed further, forcing Michelle to climax hard
again.

After what seemed an eternity, Michelle came down from her second
successive orgasm. Tina finally slowed her pace and eventually
stopped. Michelle was relieved. She didn't think she could take any
more. The jerk off in the hotel room two days ago had been good, but it
didn't even begin to compare to what she'd just felt.

Tina eventually withdrew her soaking wet hand. She then moved up the bed,
finally straddling Michelle's face, with her pussy just inches above her
mouth.

"Your turn," Tina said.

Michelle hesitated for full second, before her head lifted up and her
tongue darted out of her mouth and into Tina's waiting pussy.

After the extreme pleasure that Tina had enforced upon her, Michelle felt
obligated to repay the gesture.

Michelle licked tenderly on Tina's pussy, sucking and probing her enlarged
clitoris. Finger fucking Michelle had left Tina so sexually frustrated that
she had to have her own relief. As she looked down and saw Michelle eating
her out, she knew that her own climax would not be far away.

"Yeah. Bring me off," Tina whispered.

Michelle had never quite known what to do when performing oral sex on a
woman, but right now, she knew that she was doing something right, so she
simply pushed her tongue in deeper.

Tina orgasmed soon afterwards. Although Tina's body shuddered and she gave
a loud moan, Michelle instantly noticed that Tina's climax had been nothing
compared to her own. Michelle continued to lick away at Tina's juices until
Tina came down completely from her peak.

"See," Tina said when it was finally over as she lay beside
Michelle. "Being a woman's not so bad."

Michelle just smiled back; not saying anything because she felt embarrassed
that she'd enjoyed it so much. They were just lying on the bed as Tina
continued to stroke Michelle's body.

Tina felt a little guilty. She had promised to herself that she would not
give in to the pheromones that compelled her to make love to Michelle. But
when she was standing in front of Michelle and she told Tina that she was
equally horny, Tina found that she simply couldn't hold out. Her body
didn't act fully under her own control.

Still, it appeared to work out all right. Michelle, although embarrassed,
had clearly enjoyed it and it did solve her horniness.

"God that felt good," Michelle said after a pause. "Why did it feel so
good?" she asked Tina.

"Because that's what your body was designed for," Tina replied.

"But I thought you said I won't turn into a bimbo," Michelle said, with the
tone of her voice showing some concern.

"You won't," Tina replied. "I told you that you'd be horny for the next few
weeks. But your body was designed for sex. It's very... sensitive in those
places. You won't always be horny, but you'll always... enjoy sex."

"B-But if I'm gonna enjoy it so much, what's to stop me from turning into a
slut anyway?" Michelle asked, worried.

Tina swallowed, worried about that very fact, but she did her best to hide
it from Michelle. "A lot. Nothing's changed up top. It's still you in
there," Tina said as she tapped Michelle's forehead. "There's a big
difference between a girl that's horny and a girl that enjoys sex. Right
now, you're both, but it'll be okay."

Michelle relaxed again, assured by Tina's comments, but Tina was still very
anxious, because she knew that even after Michelle's hormone level dropped
to normal levels, she would still be left with a body that was designed for
one thing in mind - sex. That sex session had just confirmed one of Tina's
fears. Michelle's body was extremely sensitive in certain places. Tina saw
that Michelle could do nothing but allow Tina to please her. She was
helpless.

Because of that, Tina also knew, that if Michelle did ever allow a man just
to touch her in those areas, she would probably find her heart melting
quicker than an ice cube in Arizona.

What frightened Tina was the fact that if Michelle did start to enjoy sex
so much, she could so easily become addicted to it. Tina, like all the
other Kithra, had the ability to increase her own body's sexual sensitivity
so she knew how addictive it could be. The only thing that held back those
addictions was the fact that such sensitivity could only be temporary.

However, for Michelle, such sensitivity was permanent. If she ever learned
magic, she could decrease her sensitivity temporarily, but by that time,
she might not want to. In short, although Tina had denied it, she knew that
it was possible that Michelle could end up as a slutty bimbo over time.

But in the end, Tina knew that all she could do was guide Michelle and help
her. She wanted to try to avoid it, because if Michelle did up end as a
bimbo, Tina would feel as if she killed Michael by transforming him. Tina
knew that the old Michael was already gone forever and a gradual change was
inevitable. However, Michael would continue to live on in Michelle and Tina
wanted to try to ensure that as much of Michael's personality remained
intact.

"So how long will that satisfy me for?" Michelle eventually asked in a
joking nature, breaking Tina's thoughts.

"I don't know," Tina replied. "Like I said, your horny nature is a side
effect of the transformation," again, Tina neglected to tell Michelle that
she was completely responsible for that particular side effect. "But it'll
settle down in time, say about a week."

Michelle didn't exactly like the idea of being a horny female for week, but
she felt reassured that Tina was there to help her through it all.

"What would happen if you weren't here to satisfy me?" Michelle asked.

"You'd probably end up screwing a guy," Tina joked back, which made
Michelle look very nervous. The mere thought that she could ever have sex
with a guy was very unnerving for her.

"Hey, that was a joke," Tina reassured but she could see from the look on
Michelle's face that she was far from being totally assured. "Look. You
don't ever have to have sex with a guy if you don't want to. You can spend
the rest of your life being a lesbian if you want."

"But it's no unnatural being a lesbian," Michelle complained without
thinking. She stopped herself instantly as she realized she arguing for
herself to sleep with a guy. A very insecure feeling swept through her.

"Don't worry," Tina reassured. "You'll be fine. If you want to sleep with a
guy, then go ahead. If not, then don't. And if you do ever want to try it,
you don't have to go and pick up a guy. I can always grow a cock for a
short time if you want," Tina paused allowing Michelle to think, "it's not
a problem. Take your time."

Michelle was slightly reassured. Although Tina had transformed her, she
still trusted Tina. She felt that Tina would never allow her to come to any
harm.

"So Tina. If I ever become a full witch, what powers will I have? I mean
what can you do?" Michelle asked. Although she was still thinking from the
tactical point of view, Michelle was asking it more out of curiosity now.

"Well, we're very powerful, but only in a narrow field. You see, apart from
a few exceptions, our powers only affect living things. We can transform
people. We can heal our bodies, so we never get sick or ill and we can keep
a youthful appearance."

"So, will I ever die then," Michelle interrupted.

"Yes. We're not immortal. If you walk outside and a truck knocks you over,
you'll die. We can't heal fatal wounds, just as we can't prevent
death. When your time comes, that's it. But we can prolong it. You'll live
until you're at least ninety and anything up to a hundred and fifty without
aging a single day unless you want to."

"So what about other things, say..." Michelle paused, "telekinesis."

"No. That's beyond our power" Tina replied, which shocked Michelle. "Like I
said, we can only affect living things. We can hurt people if we want
to. We can create illusions in people's mind and we can even make ourselves
invisible to normal people. We have limited mind control and telepathy, but
we can't turn lead into gold or anything like that. We can't affect
anything inanimate."

"So... in the wider sense, you're not all that powerful then, are you?"
Michelle pointed out.

Tina shook her head, "No and against other witches, even that power becomes
useless. But the power we have gives us an edge in life. We all live very
comfortable lives and because of that, a lot of us will... do anything to
protect our lifestyle."

Michelle fully understood was Tina was trying to say. Her own telekinetic
powers gave her a different, but equal edge in life and although her own
powers were minor compared to theirs, Michelle could live an extremely
comfortable life with the aid of her telekinetic powers.

However, the news that the witches did not have the power of telekinesis
was shocking. Michelle would have been prepared to bet that her telekinetic
powers had something to do with Tina's witch powers, but that hypothesis
was starting to look very shaky.

Michelle was just beginning to feel that maybe she might have found a new
home with these witches. She was even thinking about telling Tina about her
powers, believing it may help her cause to be accepted. But when Tina told
her that telekinesis was not possible, Michelle withdrew from her plan.

As Michelle turned to look at Tina, she noticed a small circular pendant on
her neck. Although she hadn't paid much attention to it before, it had the
engraving of a bird on it, which Michelle guessed was a falcon.

Tina noticed where Michelle's eyes were concentrated. "It's the symbol of
our group," she said as she picked it up in her hand.

"Here, you wear it," Tina suggested.

"Oh no, I couldn't," Michelle replied. She could tell that the pendant was
dear to Tina's heart.

"No. I insist. I can always get another one," Tina said as she unfastened
the chain.

Michelle relented so Tina fastened the chain around her smooth neck.
"You're one of us now," she said as she kissed Michelle gently on the
neck. The couple continued to cuddle one another, finally falling to sleep
in each other's arms.


Chapter Fourteen
================

Mary was slumped over her desk as she woke up very early in her small
makeshift office at the mansion. Despite intensive searching, they had been
unable to track down Michelle or Tina.

Mary was all too aware that their resources were spread very
thinly. Because they couldn't arouse any suspicion within the other groups,
Mary knew that she could only bring in a limited number to help with the
search. In total, she knew that she only had around thirty members at her
disposal, with another ten flying in from California.

The airport and train stations had been the first to cover. But even so,
Mary knew that Michelle and Tina could have been on the road all
night. They could be at least five hundred miles away. As Mary was studying
a map, she realized that it would be an impossible task to cover all the
roads. It was obvious that Tina would do everything possible to attempt to
evade detection.

It would help Mary a lot if she could guess their likely destination. Mary
only had two possible guesses, namely New Jersey and Canada. Therefore,
most of the personnel had been sent to either New Jersey, or the Canadian
border.

Mary put down the map and rubbed her eyes. Even now, she still couldn't
work out exactly how Michelle had escaped. She also couldn't decide whether
she had been helped. At first, the facts appeared to indicate that Tina and
Sarah had collectively sprung Michelle, with Sarah unlocking the window and
Tina waiting for Michelle in the woods.

But after Mary had interviewed Monica, she was beginning to rethink
things. Monica said that Tina had seemed genuinely shocked to see Michelle
there. Furthermore, the only key to the window in the room had been
accounted for. It seemed that the most likely explanation was that Michelle
managed to pick the window lock, climb down to the ground, clear the
perimeter fence and accidentally meet up with Tina. It seemed far-fetched,
but so far, it was the only explanation that managed to fit the facts.

Mary held in her hand a small smooth stone. She knew that stone would be
the key to recovering them both. It was because of such stones that no
member had ever successfully left. Although their powers could not affect
inanimate objects directly, their most powerful members had the ability to
enchant inanimate objects with vast quantities of magic, in effect creating
a magical battery. This energy could then be used a later stage. They only
had a few of these power stones.

The stone Mary was holding had been an ordinary beach stone, until a few
years ago when it was enchanted with the ability to incapacitate a witch,
even with their magical protection and furthermore, it's enormous power
meant that it could be used at a distance. Ever since the main
transformation spell included magical protection, all the groups had done
extensive research into spells that could somehow break through that
protection, as it would give them a tremendous edge. So far, a power stone
was the only thing.

But it still had strict limitations. Unfortunately for Michelle, no such
stone could transform a witch. Also, this particular stone could only be
used against a member of their own group and only then, if activated by
someone emotionally close to the target.

That meant that it couldn't be used against Michelle, because none of them
were emotionally close enough to her. However, it could be used to disable
Tina. Mary guessed that without Tina, Michelle would find it impossible to
survive and they would pick her up very quickly. Furthermore, any such
Kithra attacked with this stone would be magically highlighted for some
time afterwards so they could easily be tracked down.

Although Mary was close to Tina, the only two people really close enough
were her mother and brother. At that point, Mary wondered how she could
convince either of them to co-operate.

The second problem was that although it could be used at a range, it's
range was still limited to less than ten miles, so currently, getting Sarah
or Andrew to activate it was a moot point, unless they could get a lead on
Michelle and Tina's position.

She put down the stone and considered the possibilities. She could see that
the whole situation was threatening to rip their group apart. Divisions
were already starting to appear. Michelle's escape had just entrenched each
side in their positions. Ever since her escape, Sarah had been busy
mobilizing support for Michelle within the group.

Hank's supporters were saying that Michelle's escape proves how dangerous
she is and that she should be shot on sight. On the other hand, Sarah's
supporters were citing that Michelle's escape was simply due to the
terrible way that they had treated her since her transformation and anyone
else would have done the same.

Both sides were in a minority. In the middle was the bulk of their group,
who were decent honest and caring people. Mary knew that when the crunch
came, they would not allow Hank to carry out his aim as long as Michelle
was in their custody. However, she also knew Hank's actions twenty years
earlier allowed him some extra leeway and Michelle was no longer in the
relative protection of the mansion.

Mary knew that Michelle's best chance of survival lay with her quick
recapture. Keeping her locked up may seem inhuman, but it really was the
safest place for her. Hank and his gang were out there looking for her with
the other teams. Despite strict orders from the Council, everyone knew that
Hank was on a search-and-destroy mission and if he found her first...

Her concentration was broken by the sound of her cellphone ringing. She
picked it up and answered it.

"Hello."

"Hi there, Mary. It's Richard. Sorry it's early, but you told me to ring
first thing in the morning."

"Oh, yeah," Mary replied, remembering the fact that Richard was in New
Jersey investigating Michael Curtis's background. "Where have you
been. I've been trying to get hold of you all night?" Mary asked.

"I lost my cellphone with my luggage at the airport. Why? What's wrong?"
Richard asked, detecting something wrong it Mary's voice.

"It's Michelle... err Michael. She escaped last night."

"Escaped," Richard half yelled, the shock in his voice obvious. "How?"

"Well it looks like she picked the lock in the secure room and escaped that
way. Then it looks like Tina found her and they escaped together. We think
they might have gone to New Jersey. I've got ten people on their way to
you. They should be with you in a few hours."

"Shit," Richard replied.

"Yeah. I know," Mary stated. "Richard. What have you found out about
Michael Curtis? Who the hell was he? So far, we discover he's a martial
artist, master lockpicker and God knows what else. I mean who was this
Michael Curtis, fucking James Bond."

"Huh, funny you should say that," Richard said. "I've been thinking the
same myself."

"Why?" Mary asked.

"Well, remember back in California. She really beat up those rapists. She
even broke bones."

"Yeah," Mary stated. "That was weird. But she is into martial arts. Those
guys weren't expecting a fight back and she got lucky," Mary pointed out,
not quite sure what point Richard was trying to make.

"Then why can't I find any indication of martial arts in her house. I've
looked right through. There's no trace of any medals, trophies, no colored
belt, no Karate robe and no telephone numbers of any clubs. If she was into
martial arts, there isn't a trace of it in her house."

Mary was silent. She thought back to the fight she witnessed earlier. It
then occurred to her that Michelle didn't fight like someone trained in
martial arts. In fact she just kicked and flailed around like a girl and it
was only because of her apparent strength that temporarily allowed her to
flee.

"Then there's his past," Richard said, now referring to Michelle in the
male sense. "It's all shaky. He hasn't done anything in the past three
years, but he has lots of money in the bank from cash deposits. I'm
wondering if this guy is CIA or something like that and his accident three
years ago is just a cover story. Maybe the real Michael Curtis did die and
this new person took over his place. I'm beginning to wonder if they are
even his real family."

"How will you know," Mary asked.

"Well as soon as the body is discovered in California, I'm going to
accompany the police officer that goes to his parents house. I'll try and
scan them and see what I can find out."

"Right. Keep me informed. Right now any information helps."

"Okay", Richard agreed. "How did they actually get away from the mansion
then?" Richard asked.

"We're still not sure how Michelle escaped from the room, but Michelle and
Tina escaped in Monica's Mercedes. We haven't been able to trace either of
them since. They could be anywhere now."

There was a slight pause from Richard before he said, "Don't you have any
idea where they are?"

"No. All we know is that they're in Monica's car. She had her cellphone in
the car and I've tried ringing it just so that I can speak to them and
plead for them to come back, but there's no response. Monica thinks she put
it on vibrate mode. Either that, or they've got rid of it."

There was another lengthy pause from Richard. "Did you say that they've got
Monica's cellphone with them."

"Well, yeah," Mary replied, unsure of Richard's questioning.

"And it's definitely switched on?" he asked.

"Yes. I just tried to ring it a short time ago, but there was no
answer. Like I said, Monica thinks she left it on vibrate mode earlier
today and forgot to switch it back. Why? What are you driving at?"

"Well, I'm thinking of the 911 control center in San Diego. You do know
that cellphones can be traced," Richard stated.

"I know you can trace the number, but we need to know where it is," Mary
said.

"That's what I mean. You CAN trace a cellphone," Richard tried to
explain. "Look, I'm not sure how they do it, but the cellphone company can
do some sort of triangulation on the nearest base stations to the phone as
long as it's switched on. We use it in the force when we get someone
needing help, but they don't have any idea where they are. It's still in
the trial stages and the it'll take some convincing, but it can be done."

*****************

Tina awoke early the next morning. Almost immediately, she began to feel
the pull of Michelle's chemical attractions. At first, she tried to resist
them, but she quickly retreated from that policy as her hands started
straying towards Michelle's soft body.

She initially felt guilty at her actions, but she quickly reconciled her
conscience by convincing herself that Michelle needed some sex to relieve
her horniness, so in a way, Tina would be doing Michelle a favor by making
love to her.

Michelle was facing Tina and she could see that Michelle was still
asleep. Tina reached over and picked up some of Michelle's honey hair and
pulled it in front of her. As Michelle began to wake up, Tina gently pulled
the hair taught and teased Michelle's nipple with the strands of her own
hair.

The nipple quickly hardened as Michelle opened her eyes. As Michelle
realized what was happened, Tina saw a look of lust of her eyes.

Grinning slightly, Tina pushed herself down the bed and twisted her
body. She carefully parted Michelle's legs and gently pushed her tongue
onto the edges of Michelle's vaginal lips. Michelle, seeing Tina's legs at
her end of the bed, couldn't resist the opportunity for a sixty-nine
position.

Over the next half-hour, they continued to lick, suck and probe with their
fingers. Tina's actions, brought Michelle yet more incredible pleasure as
she cried out frequently. Tina noticed that Michelle's orgasms were very
pronounced. There was nothing half-hearted about her climaxes. Tina guessed
that this was yet another side effect of her sexy body.

Later, Tina helped Michelle to brush out her long hair, then weaved it into
a long braid. It was a strange sensation for Michelle. It felt like a long
tail hanging down from her head, but it was considerably easier than the
mane of hair it had been earlier. It made her think that perhaps living
with long hair wasn't quite as bad as she first thought, although she knew
that she had a long way to go before she could ever accept it.

As Tina was finishing her hair, it gave Michelle an opportunity to for
solid reflection of the facts. Yesterday had been full of emotion, but
today her head was much clearer.

"What are we gonna do then?" Michelle asked Tina, now thinking about the
future. Although she still hated it, she was beginning to accept the simple
fact that she would have to spend a good part, if not all of the next
eighteen months as a blonde bombshell.

"I've been thinking about that," Tina responded. "First, we need to get
some money. It'll take a little time, but I can use my magic to help us
there. Then we need to leave the country so they can't track us down. We
can go to Europe. Most of witches have remained in the States, so we should
be safe there. Then I'll teach you everything you need to know. First about
being a woman, then about being a witch. I'll teach you all the magic I
know."

Tina was gesturing with her hands for extra emphasis. Michelle noted that
Tina seemed so much more energetic and bubbly, "You see, I've been
thinking. The reason why people will want to kill you is that they see you
as a threat. If we can somehow show them that you're not a threat; that
you're a responsible person with magic, even the Raven's might accept you."

"So you're saying that I need to prove myself as a witch, then I might be
accepted," Michelle said. At that moment, she wondered about her
telekinetic powers. Although she now knew that the witches didn't posses
that power, she believed she had used them wisely so it may help her case.

"Right," Tina said interrupting Michelle's thoughts. "That way, we could
return home and maybe even get you turned back in fifteen months if that's
what you want."

"What do you mean 'if that's what I want'. Believe me Tina, I WANT TO,"
Michelle stated.

"Michelle," Tina started. "I know that right now you'd probably do anything
to be a guy again, but you've gotta realize that fifteen months is a long
time. Your reasons for going back just won't be as strong and you might be
settled by then. Next year, going back might not be the most important
thing in your life."

Tina didn't have the heart to tell Michelle that even after fifteen months,
her chances of being turned back were not certain. But like her mother,
Tina could see the need for Michelle to have something to cling to, so she
remained quiet on that point.

As much as she hated to admit it, Michelle was forced to agree partially to
what Tina was saying. Although it was only three days into her life as a
woman, she could see that her old life was already gone. Even if she could
go back in fifteen months, she knew that she would have no friends or
family, since they were now already lost to her.

*****************

Mary was sitting with Sarah in the back seat of the chopper as they sped to
their destination. As soon as Richard had informed Mary that cellphones
could be traced, she immediately instructed him to do whatever it took to
find Tina's location.

Richard had visited the New York Police Department and used a mixture of
his contacts as a Detective and magical influence to get the police to
contact the cellphone company and track down Monica's cellphone.

The trace on the phone wasn't completely accurate, but still accurate down
to a few miles. It had given the location of the phone as being in a town a
few hundred miles West, in New York State, and also, in a stationary
position.

From the location, Mary didn't believe that they were headed for New
Jersey. Instead, Mary guessed that Niagara was their most likely
destination. She had diverted as many persons from surrounding areas as she
could to converge on those two areas. However, at the same time, she wanted
to keep some people in reserve, just in case they had already discarded the
cellphone and the reading they received was completely false.

Mary was using the chopper to go ahead, but because they wanted to be sure
of recapturing both Tina and Michelle, Mary needed to wait for backup to
arrive as Tina could be alerted by the presence of a number of incoming
witches, especially those within her own group.

Tracking down another Kithra was not nearly as easy an operation as most
people thought. Mary knew that Tina would have plenty of options at her
disposal to evade detection. They needed to make sure that they covered all
the bases before going in.

Mary held the power stone in her pocket. This was the break they needed to
recapture them. All they had to do was get close enough to Tina to use the
power stone. Sarah could then use it to incapacitate Tina until they
reached her. Once they had negated Tina, recapturing Michelle would be an
easy matter.

Mary had insisted that Andrew was kept at the mansion under guard. Mary had
to convince Sarah to use the power stone against her daughter. She gave a
brief glance over at Sarah, who had remained silent throughout the entire
journey.

Mary's hopes were raised. All she had to do was make sure that they were
both recaptured with very little fuss. It would prove to all those neutral
members within their group that Michelle was no threat to them and is, in
fact simply a person who desperately needs their help.


Chapter Fifteen
===============

Michelle relaxed as she floated two feet above the bed. Tina had gone out
briefly to get some shopping, hopefully to get some clothes for Michelle to
wear. Michelle had initially attempted her feminine poise again, but
instead, when her powers woke up early again, she decided to use the
opportunity to relax in that most unique way.

Michelle loved doing this. As well as being able to create a force with her
mind, her powers also allowed her to negate forces, particularly
gravity. The feeling of floating and weightlessness was exhilarating, like
no other. It also allowed her to partially forget what had happened to
her. For the first time in three days, she could no longer feel the weight
of her large boobs on her chest, although she could still feel the
sensations from them, largely because she had a bra strapped to her chest.

Michelle had stripped down to her bra and panties to float in the air
because her dress was too restrictive. She decided that she would have to
get rid of that dress as soon as possible. As she looked down at herself
and she saw her long tail of hair floating in front of her face, she
couldn't help but get slightly aroused again, despite the fact that Tina
had relieved those feelings earlier. Tina had told her she would feel very
horny for the next few weeks, but she had no idea just how horny.

Michelle couldn't believe how much she had enjoyed making love to Tina. It
had felt far better than any sex she had experienced as a man. Tina
explained to Michelle that this was perfectly normal because her body was
designed for sex. Apparently, any of the witches could transform themselves
and make their bodies equally enjoyable for temporary periods, but for
Michelle it would be the other way around.

Tina also explained that if Michelle learned magic, she would be able to
turn herself into a guy, with an equally sensitive body, which interested
Michelle. The mere thought of having a cock that was as sensitive as her
new groin made her get all wet.

As Michelle began to slide a hand down to her sex and have a gentle play
around, she suddenly heard a sound at the door, which broke her
concentration. As soon as her concentration was disturbed, Michelle felt
the force of gravity began to return as she gently fell toward the
bed. Although she could have easily remained airborne, she allowed herself
to gently land on the bed. She sat up as she heard a key being inserted
into the lock before the door was opened and Tina entered the room.

"Hi. You were quick," as Michelle walked over to greet her still in her
underwear. She was expecting to have much more time.

"Well I didn't want to leave you alone for too long," Tina said.

"Hey, I've been feminized, not crippled. I can take care of myself,"
Michelle stated, although she could understand Tina's worry. They hadn't
traveled all that far yesterday and they were still in "enemy territory".

Tina looked up and down Michelle's body noticing the fact that she wasn't
wearing her dress anymore. Michelle saw where Tina was looking and
struggled to give an explanation.

"Oh. I was err... you know..." Michelle said as she felt her face flush red
slightly.

"It's alright. I understand. I told you you'd be horny for the next few
weeks. Don't feel embarrassed about it," Tina said believing Michelle had
been playing with herself on the bed, although Tina was slightly concerned
that Michelle was playing with herself so soon after she had made love to
her.

"So what did you get," Michelle asked, changing the subject and interested
to see what Tina had bought.

As Tina emptied the bag containing an assortment of items, Michelle
instantly saw a small box and picked it up. She had seen these items many
times before, but she never had any use for them.

"Tampons. Are these for you or..." Michelle's words trailed off.

"You," Tina replied. "My periods not due yet. We want to be prepared, don't
we."

"Yeah. Sure," Michelle replied, with an obvious lack of enthusiasm for
having a period. "When will my first one be then."

"Anytime in the next month. You see guys have their own menstrual cycle as
well, but they just don't have any symptoms. If you get the timing wrong,
it's possible to get transformed straight into a period."

Michelle put down the box. The thought of actually having a period made her
physically shudder.

"Oh, I even got us some new wheels," Tina said as she held up a set of
keys. "See that Chrysler in the parking lot. That's our new car."

"How did you manage that," Michelle asked.

"A little mind control with the owner. I gave him the Mercedes. Tomorrow,
when it wears off, he'll wonder how his Chrysler turned into a Mercedes,
but that's not our problem," Tina giggled. Although Tina was generally very
honest and did not use her powers for such gain, it was an emergency. They
needed to swap cars.

"Didn't they have any clothes?" Michelle asked, feeling a little exposed in
her underwear.

"Sorry. It was only a small store. I thought about going into town, but I
didn't want to leave you for too long."

Michelle nodded, slightly dejected, "I was hoping I wouldn't have to put
that damn dress back on again," she said as she walked over and picked it
up. "I know I'm a woman now and I know I should wear dresses, but
just... not yet."

"I know how you feel," Tina said sympathetically. "I'm sure Mom only made
you wear it because she thought it was in your best interests. We'll get
you some pants later. You'll feel more comfortable in them. But we can't go
crazy with shopping. I only have two hundred dollars and that has to last
us for a while. I can use my magic to get us all the money we need, but
that will take a little time."

As Michelle was putting her dress back on, she thought about her emergency
stash in Vegas. If anything counted as an emergency, her current situation
did. That money could be very useful. "Well, I think I can help there."

"How?" Tina inquired as she helped to zip Michelle's dress back up.

"I have some money hidden away. Money that no one knows about. We can use
that."

"Michelle. We can't go back to New Jersey. I know you want to go there, but
it's the first place they'll look," Tina said. She knew that it would be
hard for Michelle to accept the fact that she had lost her friends and
family and going back to New Jersey would be very dangerous and emotional.

"It's not in New Jersey," Michelle stated. She would have dearly liked to
go back, but she was only too aware of the dangers. It was the first place
they would look for her.

"Oh, well then sure. Where is it?" Tina asked, her curiosity aroused.

Michelle realized that one answer was leading to another question. If she
went any further, she knew she would have to tell Tina about her
telekinetic powers. In the following few seconds, Michelle decided that the
time to tell someone about her powers had finally come.

"Tina," Michelle started. "I've got a few things to tell you. Things you
don't know about me. In fact, I've got a secret, a big secret. Why don't I
make us a morning coffee and then we can sit down and talk about it."

Tina had a puzzled look on her face, but she just smiled and
nodded. Michelle turned and walked away to make a coffee. Her hands were
shaking ever so slightly as she poured the hot water into the cup. In three
years, Michelle had never told a soul about her powers. At first, she
wanted to tell everyone and share it with the world, but after a time she
got so used to keeping it secret that it became so natural to her.

She was also nervous as to how Tina might take the news that she had
telekinetic powers, because right now, Tina was quite prepared to throw her
life away in order to help Michelle, mostly because Tina believed that she
was entirely to blame for what happened.

But Michelle wondered how Tina would she feel if she knew that the reason
for her spell being screwed up was Michelle's fault. Their feelings for one
another ran much deeper than that and Michelle guessed Tina would fully
understand, but she couldn't be sure. A part of Michelle told her that she
should keep it secret from Tina.

But as risky as telling Tina might be, Michelle knew that she couldn't keep
it a secret from Tina any longer. If Tina was prepared to go on the run
with her for what could be the rest of her life, then she had no right to
withhold that information. It was the time when she would finally reveal
her power to another person.

Michelle returned with the coffee mugs. She placed her own mug on her side
of the table, but as she was about to hand Tina her mug, she thought that
the best way to explain her powers would be a demonstration.

"Hey, look at this trick," Michelle said.

Michelle placed the whole mug on the tip of her finger and spun it around
slowly in the air with her other hand. The mug was spinning on the tip of
her long fingernail.

"Huh, cool," Tina replied, impressed that Michelle had such amazing
co-ordination with her new nails. The mug just seemed to be hovering on her
fingertip.

"Now, this is the secret I have," Michelle said. She then lowered her hand
completely, leaving the mug spinning in the air.

Tina's jaw dropped open about as far as it would go as she looked over at
Michelle who appeared to be faintly smiling back. She tried to speak but
she was completely lost for words. She couldn't utter a single sound.

Michelle carefully lowered the mug onto the table with her powers.

"H-How did you do that," Tina eventually asked. Her mind was now racing
with the possibilities of how Michelle had seemingly done the
impossible. Was it some sort of trick? Even a witch couldn't do what she
just did.

"Sit down," Michelle said. "This may take a while to explain."

*****************

Sarah was mulling over her possibilities as she saw another fleet of cars
pull into the rendezvous point. The plan was for them to circle around and
close off all the possible exits. Sarah would then use the power stone to
incapacitate Tina and they would then move in to capture them
both. Although Michelle was the primary target, everyone knew that without
Tina, Michelle would be easy pickings.

"Sarah," Mary said, walking up to her. "I can promise you that Tina will
come to no harm and that I'll do the best I can for Michelle. But if we
don't get them both, I can't give you any guarantees. You don't want either
of them to be hurt, do you?" Mary said. She was playing a bit of emotional
blackmail to get Sarah to go along with the plan.

"Fuck you Mary," Sarah shouted back surprising Mary as Sarah's coarse
language. "How dare you say something like that. I don't want to see anyone
hurt."

"I know this is hard for you," Mary said.

"No you don't," Sarah retorted. "When was the last time someone saved your
life and then you had to deliver them so that they might be harmed. You've
got no fucking idea what this is like," Sarah snapped back. She remembered
Michelle saying something similar about what it felt like to be turned into
a woman. She was beginning to see her side of the argument now.

"We don't know for sure what will happen to Michelle," Mary pointed out,
thinking perhaps she misread the situation slightly. She truly couldn't
imagine how hard it was for Sarah; being asked to aid their recapture,
especially when Mary couldn't give absolute guarantees as to what would
happen.

"Mary, why don't we just let them go," Sarah pleaded with Mary. "They won't
hurt anyone."

"Sarah. You know it's not that simple. Even if they don't cause trouble
now, what will happen in twenty years time when they have their own
children? They'll want to transform them and make them witches. Then what
will happen twenty years after that?" Mary stated. Although what she had
said was very rhetorical, there was a very serious side. The Ravens had
started out as just a single couple leaving the Hawks. Since then all
groups had applied strict rules that no-one could ever leave unless they
were first stripped of their powers at the time of the Spectacle.

"I need to pee," Sarah stated, not wanting to continue the conversation
further, mostly because Mary was making a good argument. She headed for the
washroom. Mary insisted that an escort go with her. Although she didn't
believe Sarah would attempt to alert Tina, she couldn't afford to take the
chance.

"How long till we've got them caged in," Mary asked a man.

"We've just finished briefing the final teams. They've now gotta circle
round. It'll be an hour before all the roads are blocked off." Mary nodded.

*****************

Tina was still partially reeling from the shock of what she had been
seen. Michelle had carefully described how she obtained her powers of
telekinesis and how she had refined them over the years.

The new information explained a lot of things to Tina. While Tina couldn't
be sure, she already suspected that it was the reason why her spell went so
badly wrong. It also explained how Michelle had been so strong, despite
having a body to the contrary.

However, it raised just as many new questions. What exactly was Michelle?
How could she, through an accident gain the sort of power that no Kithra
was capable of? Was she some sort of Kithra herself? These questions and
others immediately sprang to Tina's mind.

Tina had asked Michelle some questions about her powers to try and work out
if they were just a derivative of her own powers. She listened to
Michelle's descriptions of her powers and noted some striking
similarities. Michelle told Tina that her telekinetic powers were line of
sight, unless she could find some other way to focus her power. It was an
accurate description of how Tina's witch powers worked. Kithra also needed
line of sight to direct their powers, unless they could telepathically link
with their target, which could only be done if they had a close emotional
link with the person.

However, there were other aspects about Michelle's powers that did not
sound similar, like the way Michelle actually used her power. Firstly,
although her powers was intermittent, Michelle appeared to have limitless
use of them while they were working, seemingly able to use her powers all
day long. This was in stark contrast to Tina's own powers, where she only
had a limited amount of magic at her disposal.

Also, Michelle needed to constantly maintain her concentration when she
used her powers, whereby Tina's magic had a sense of permanency about
it. Even when doing temporary things, like transforming herself, all she
had to do was concentrate at the start and then forget about it until she
wanted the spell to end.

The final thing to consider was the fact that Michelle had been able to use
her powers in her room, despite the fact that no spells could be cast in
that room. No witch would have been able to use their power in that room,
yet Michelle had.

Considering everything, Tina couldn't make up her mind if Michelle's powers
were just a different type of witch power or... something completely
different.

Michelle also told Tina how lonely she had felt after gaining her
powers. Tina could sympathize with her there. After she was turned into
Kithra, she had to effectively say goodbye to all her old friends who were
not part of the witch community. But Tina gained new friends to
compensate. Tina couldn't imagine the loneliness Michelle would have felt,
not being able to share her experiences with others.

"So... why didn't you tell everyone about this yesterday?" Tina asked
Michelle.

"I was scared," Michelle replied honestly. "I didn't know what was going
on. No one was telling me a thing and when I overheard them saying that
they were gonna kill me, I used my powers to escape. Will it make a
difference now? Will they accept me if they know about these powers?"
Michelle asked.

Tina thought carefully about the internal politics, "They might. It would
definitely make it easier for the Falcons to accept you. Technically, you
might even be a witch already if that's what these powers are," she said
before thinking. "But, if they're not the same as witch powers, they might
just perceive you as an even bigger threat than before, because you can do
something they can't. You have a power they don't. The other groups
definitely will think of you as a threat."

"That's kinda what I thought," Michelle nodded. "So what do we do?"

Tina kept thinking, "Same as before," she concluded. "We'll still leave the
country and hide. Then we can experiment and see if this telekinesis is
like my magic. At the same time, I can sound out the ground back here. I'm
sure we'll be able to work something out."

Michelle nodded smiling. For the first time, she could actually see where
she was going. As an architect, Michelle always liked to see a full game
plan before setting out and it was being kept in the dark that made her so
frustrated over the past few days.

"Michelle. You didn't tell me about this last night, so why are you telling
me now?" Tina asked.

Michelle paused before speaking. It was now her time to feel guilty from a
question. "Well, I didn't tell you last night because I was sort of afraid
that you might not help me because this was all my own fault. But when I
saw that you were going to throw away your life to go on the run with me, I
just... had to tell you," Michelle said meekly.

Tina stood up and walked over to Michelle. "Michelle. This isn't your
fault," Tina stated, amazed that Michelle could think to blame herself.

"But it isn't your fault either," Michelle pointed out.

Tina opened her mouth to speak when she suddenly realized what Michelle was
trying to say. Tina had spent the past few days trying to work out what she
had done wrong. Everyone had been telling her she did nothing wrong, but
deep down she just didn't believe them.

Now she realized that she didn't do anything wrong. The problem was
Michelle's telekinetic powers somehow interfering Tina's witch powers. But
that didn't make it Michelle's fault either. It was an accident, pure and
simple. Tina could finally see that.

Michelle stood up as she reached the same conclusion. They hugged one
another tightly. Tears formed in both of their eyes as they shed the strong
emotions.

"No more blaming ourselves, okay," Tina said, crying slightly.

"Agreed," Michelle replied, also beginning to cry.

The couple remained in that position for several minutes.

*****************

Hank was standing by his car as they prepared to move out. They were
waiting for the final confirmation that the net was closed around Tina and
Michelle, then they would go in and recapture them both. At least that was
the official plan.

Hank however, had other ideas. He knew that Michelle unwittingly threatened
the Falcon's very existence. Deep down he didn't want to do anyone any
harm, but he had a strong belief that the few should be sacrificed for the
welfare of the many. He vowed that he would gladly give his own life to
protect the group. What he was not prepared to do, was give up the group to
protect an individual.

However, he knew that the vast majority of the Falcons did not share his
views. They didn't have the stomach for the tough decisions. He knew that
the reason why he existed on the Falcons Council was to make those very
decisions that no-one else dared consider.

Twenty years ago, the Falcons had faced extinction. They were vastly
outnumbered by the other groups and the situation was grim. The rest of the
Falcons wanted to keep their morals intact. Hank however, simply wanted to
keep the group intact. No-one had been fully aware of just how far he had
gone to secure their survival and he would lay awake at night for years
afterwards wondering if he had done the right thing.

Eventually his conscience became numbed to the guilt and he finally
convinced himself that he had had been right. He also vowed to do exactly
the same again, if the situation arose. That situation was here.

He wasn't sure exactly how to proceed. He had a number of ideas in his
head, but he hadn't decided on which path to take. As he noticed the signal
that the final team was nearing it's position, he opened the car door and
sat down, mulling over his plans.


Chapter Sixteen
===============

Tina and Michelle were laughing and joking together as Tina was driving
down the interstate. Michelle thought that it was a little strange having
the air conditioning on full, but Tina didn't want to get too horny just
yet.

For both of them, they felt as if an enormous burden of weight had been
lifted from them. They had each blamed themselves for the events of three
days ago, yet they both now realized that what happened was a pure accident
and they were equally to blame.

They were also beginning to feel even closer together because they were in
a very similar situation. They had both lost all of their friends and
family and they right now, they both needed each other more than anything.

"Will my powers make it easier for me to be a witch then?" Michelle asked
as she was studying a map that Tina had bought from the store earlier.

Tina just shrugged, "I don't know. It might make it easier. It might make
it harder. Until we find out exactly what this power of yours is, I can't
say."

Tina took the turnoff to get onto the interstate. As she did so, in the
corner of her eye, she could swear she saw someone she recognized on the
far side of the road going in the other direction, some six lanes away.

She shook herself as she realized that she was feeling paranoid. She knew
that every single shadow would be suspect to her now.

As she picked up speed, Tina was agreeing to herself that they should go
and recover Michelle's stash of money near Las Vegas. At first, she was
hesitant about the idea because a number of the Ravens live in
Vegas. However, they didn't have much choice because Tina's own magical
powers were getting low and she needed to keep some in reserve for
emergencies. Getting a new car had been the last time she would be able to
use her powers effectively for the new few days.

But Tina guessed that they should be safe going to Vegas, because they
wouldn't actually go to Vegas itself, but just into the Nevada desert. Even
if they did meet up with some Ravens, they would have no reason to suspect
that Michelle wasn't just a member of her group. Over the new few days,
Tina would coach Michelle in the ways of the Kithra, so she could easily
pass off as a member of the Falcons. Her pendant would help, but she needed
to know the phrases. Tina thought that it was best not to worry Michelle
about the fact that they would be going into Raven territory, at least not
just yet.

"Tina. Are you sure you want to go on the run with me?" Michelle asked in a
tone that surprised Tina.

"What sort of a question is that. Of course I do," Tina stated.

"It's just that you don't need to. I mean, I can take care of myself. If
you want to go back to your family, you can. I don't want you to stay with
me just because you feel you need to protect me."

Although Tina could see that Michelle was now much more capable of
protecting herself and Tina's burden of blame had been substantially
lifted, Tina also felt an obligation to help Michelle. She did, after all,
save her life and regardless of why her spell went so badly wrong, she
wasn't just about to leave Michelle at this critical point.

"No, Michelle. I'm not leaving you," she stated emphatically.

"But what will they do to you if they catch you. I mean, I know they'll
kill me, but what about you."

Tina could see what Michelle was attempting to say. She didn't want to be
responsible for causing any harm to Tina if she felt she could do it
alone. It was a sweet gesture, but although Tina now realized that Michelle
wasn't the helpless female that everyone believed, she would still find it
incredibly tough on her own. Michelle still needed Tina and Tina was not
about to desert her, especially now.

"Look Michelle. They're not after me; they're after you. Yeah, they'll be
pissed at me for helping you and if they ever do catch me, they'll punish
me. But they won't hurt me. If there's ever a time when they close in on
us, I'll let myself be caught so you can escape."

Although Tina wasn't completely sure that she would come to no harm and
couldn't rule out the fact that she wouldn't be killed herself, she
believed that she stood a much better chance of escaping execution than
Michelle.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Michelle said, before Tina could think any
more.

"No. I mean it. I'll do whatever it takes to defend you Michelle. You still
saved my life and I'll do whatever it takes to protect you and if I'm ever
caught, I'll never reveal your secret to them, no matter what. Not until
I'm sure that it's for the best."

In the short time since leaving the motel, it allowed Tina to think about
Michelle's telekinetic powers. Although her own group would probably
welcome the news of Michelle's telekinetic powers, Tina was getting
concerned that even the Falcons may consider Michelle's powers to be a
threat. She wasn't sure how to proceed and it would take a lot of careful
thought as to whether revealing Michelle's powers to the Falcons would be
the right thing to do.

Tina's words however, greatly eased Michelle's worry that she might be
tearing Tina away from her family. Michelle thought that there was no need
to ruin another life. However, she saw from Tina's responses, that she had
no intention of changing her mind.

*****************

"I'm sorry Mary. I can't do it," Sarah said as tears were in her eyes.

"You've got to," Mary replied sternly as she was trying to hand the stone
to Sarah.

"I can't," Sarah stated.

"Sarah, listen to me. They're already caught. We've surrounded
them. Monica's car is still there. They're gonna be caught either way, but
this way, Tina will be all right. Do you really want Hank's stormtroppers
going in there first."

"But it'll hurt Tina," Sarah pleaded, knowing that an attack from a power
stone could cause intense pain in the victim.

"Yes, it will cause her some pain and it might put her into a deep sleep,
but it won't cause her any harm. She'll be alright."

Sarah shook her head again.

"It's your choice Sarah. But if you don't do it, I'm sure Hank will go in,
shooting to kill. I don't know what he's planing, but I'm sure it isn't
pleasant."

Sarah couldn't take the emotional torture anymore, "Forgive me Tina,
please," Sarah whispered as she took the stone

*****************

Michelle was finally beginning to relax as Tina was driving them further
away, now approaching the Pennsylvania border. Tina had suggested that they
drive all the way to Las Vegas. Although they could attempt to get a plane
or train, Tina didn't have much money left and didn't want to use her magic
unless absolutely necessary.

What Tina didn't tell Michelle is that she also couldn't risk putting
Michelle in an enclosed public place until her pheromones had calmed down
because she would have hundreds of guys hitting on her within
minutes. Constant attention from guys was something that Michelle would
have to get used to, but now wasn't the time for her to start learning.

Tina also realized that it might do them some good to be on the road
together for several days.

Suddenly Tina felt a little uneasy. She felt her chest becoming very tight
as if a huge weight was pressing against her. Tina screamed in pain as
Michelle nearly jumped out of her seat. Tina clutched the steering wheel
hard and the car swerved across several lanes as Tina's body spasmed,
narrowly avoiding contact with several other vehicles.

Michelle grabbed the wheel and pulled them over to the side. She tried to
reach her leg over to hit the brake, but her dress prevented her. Thinking
quickly, she looked down, reached out with her mind and applied pressure to
the brake pedal. The car stopped quickly at the side of the road.

"Oh my God, they've found us," Tina screamed as she realized what was
happening. They had gotten close enough to use a power stone on her. How
did they find them?

"What, what can I do," Michelle shrieked in panic. She had no idea what was
happening to Tina.

"Michelle, t-they've found us," Tina called. Through the pain, her mind was
racing with the possibilities. If they were using a power stone against
her, it would also mean that they could track her down like a bloodhound
because her spirit would be magically highlighted.

"L-Leave me Michelle. R-Run Michelle. Leave M-m... " Tina's words trailed
off as she slipped into unconsciousness.

*****************

Michelle rushed into the small hospital, carrying Tina in her arms.

"Help her, please," she cried out.

A couple of nurses ran up, bringing a hospital gurney with them. Michelle
placed Tina on the bed. The nurses took her away. Michelle tried to follow,
but another nurse held her back.

"We need to know what's wrong with her," she asked.

"I-I err... don't know," Michelle replied. She knew she couldn't tell them
that she had been subjected to a witch attack.

"Has she taken anything?" the nurse asked.

"Err... No. She just collapsed and screamed," Michelle replied.

The nurse went away, leaving Michelle all alone. She slowly walked into a
waiting area. She could instantly see a few open mouths as she took an
empty seat, attempting to find a seat which left the greatest distance
between herself and any man in the room.

As she looked around, she could see that everyone was starting at her, some
very blatantly. All of the guys were physically drooling and most of the
women were looking at her with stares of jealousy; some nudging their
partners, demanding that they not stare at her.

It was the first time Michelle was out in public dressed as a woman and she
could see that it was going to take a lot of getting used to. When one of
the nurses returned with a clipboard wanting to ask Michelle some
questions, she was only too glad to finally get out of the waiting room.

"Hi there. Can I ask you that woman's name", the nurse asked.

"S-sorry," Michelle stuttered. She had been in this position before, when
she had been asked her own name three days ago. But this situation was
different.

Michelle knew that she couldn't give them Tina's real name. If she did
that, it would alert her group to where they really were. But right now,
Tina needed help. Michelle was no doctor, but she knew that whatever they
did to Tina was very severe. She had screamed in pain and begged Michelle
to leave her.

"Her name?" the nurse repeated.

"Brenda Simmonds," Michelle responded, making up the name on the spot.

"Address?" queried the woman.

Michelle paused, then made up an address. She knew that the nurses would
soon discover that she hadn't given them the correct information, but it
would at least buy her some time.

After the nurse asked a few more questions, she asked Michelle to take a
seat, but Michelle couldn't sit down. Instead, she just paced up and down
the corridor, thinking about her options. As she was thinking, several guys
walked up to her, asking if they could help her. Michelle turned them all
down, knowing the kind of help they really wanted to give her, but some of
them wouldn't take no for an answer. Eventually a security guard came to
her assistance.

Michelle knew that she couldn't stay for long, because the witches were
obviously close. In fact, Michael realized that she only had a few minutes
in which to make up her mind. She knew that she had two possible
choices. She could either barge into the ER and take Tina away, or she
could leave on her own. Either way, she couldn't afford to stay for much
longer than a few minutes.

The reason she had brought Tina to the hospital was so that she could
receive help. But now that she was there, she realized that the only people
that could help her, were the Falcons.

Michelle also noted that Tina had requested that Michelle leave her and run
away. "How could Tina suggest that," Michelle thought to herself. There had
to be a reason for it.

She knew that she had to leave, but the big question was whether she should
take Michelle with her. Although she thought that she could take care of
herself, Michelle realized all those guys started hitting on her, that she
had a lot to learn.

She really needed Tina, but she had to put Tina's best interests
first. Taking Tina away might be what's best for Michelle, but it might not
be what's best for Tina.

*****************

Hank walked into the small hospital with three other men. As soon as Sarah
had used the power stone on Tina, they all knew that something was wrong,
because they couldn't locate Tina within their net. It quickly occurred to
them that Tina and Michelle had already left the motel, obviously in
another car, but they were still close enough for the power stone to work,
albeit at a lesser degree.

Tracking down Tina had proved difficult. A power stone attack usually
highlights the victim, making it very easy to locate them. Obviously
because Tina was on the limits of it's range, their ability to locate her
was made all the more difficult. They had already been to two false
readings on Tina's position, but this time, it seemed to be more definite.

Hank also couldn't believe his luck at the fact that no other team was in
the area. His team was completely alone. None of the other search teams
even knew that they were at the hospital. As far as everyone else was
concerned, they were still out looking.

"Hi, have you had two young women brought in here recently," Hank asked one
of the nurses. "One's a tall blonde and the other a medium sized brunette."

"Huh, how could we forget," the nurse replied.

"Well," Hank asked impatiently.

"Yeah, well the blonde woman carried in the brunette a couple of hours
ago. We took the brunette, a Miss Simmonds or something into the ER. After
we asked the blonde girl some questions, she just vanished. It was really
weird."

"Damn," Hank thought. He was really after Michelle, not Tina. "So, the
brunette's still here then," Hank asked. At least capturing Tina was better
than nothing, Hank considered.

"Yeah. We've put her in a side room to monitor her. Her pulse is very weak
but we can't find anything wrong," the nurse replied.

"Can we see her?" Hank asked.

*****************

Michelle was in Tina's hospital room, gently holding her hand. Although she
had thought about leaving Tina, she found that she just couldn't do
it. Every time she attempted to start the engine of the car and drive away,
her body refused.

Eventually, she realized that she couldn't leave Tina and that she had to
go back. She decided to execute her second option, which was to take Tina
away with her. She located another entrance to the hospital, then found a
way to get into the suspended ceiling area. Using her powers to float
along, it allowed her to get to virtually any room in the hospital.

At first she hovered above the ER, listening to the doctors around
Tina. She was shocked to hear them saying how ill Tina had become. Although
she was no doctor herself, she could tell that Tina's situation was grave,
with her low pulse and blood pressure. Michelle knew, in that instant, that
she couldn't take Tina away because it might kill her.

Eventually, after the doctors thought Tina's condition was stable, they
moved her to an intensive care room, with various monitors. Michelle was
able to float above the room and use her powers to close the blinds to the
room. She then removed one of the polystyrene ceiling panels and entered
the room properly, so that she could be with Tina.

Every five minutes, one of the nurses or doctors would come into the room
to check up on Michelle. In order to remain hidden, Michelle had to use her
powers to jam the door shut, until she was completely hidden from view.

As Michelle looked at Tina, she begged to know what the Falcons had done to
Tina. They had almost killed her. A deep burning rage was filling the void
of Tina's loss. Already, she was promising to make sure those responsible
would pay if Tina did not recover.


Chapter Seventeen
=================

Hank and the three others were walking down the corridor with the nurse to
Tina's room. Two of the men had made themselves invisible, so as not to
attract extra attention. They had the ability to make themselves invisible
to the human eye, though they would still show up on video cameras and
other detection devices, which could not be affected by their magic.

When they reached the room and the nurse attempted to open the door, she
discovered the door would not budge.

"Oh, not again," the nurse commented.

"What?" Hank asked, worried.

"This door keeps getting jammed," she said.

The nurse gave another strong push against the door, but it would not
yield.

"Here, let me try," Hank volunteered, wanting to get into the room as soon
as possible. The nurse took a step back as Hank moved in front of the door
and pushed it. The door opened with surprisingly little effort.

As soon as the door was opened, all five people walked inside the small
room, to see Tina lying on a bed, hooked up to various monitors. Hank
breathed a sigh of relief. Although they could detect Tina was nearby;
there was a thought at the back of his mind, that Tina might not be there.

One of the young men escorted the nurse out of the room again, to ask her
some more questions. Everybody else just looked at Tina lying on the
hospital bed.

Up above, in the ceiling, Michelle was straining to make sure that she
didn't make a single sound as she floated above the suspended ceiling. In
those situations, it seems that every sound is amplified a thousand
fold. Her breathing seemed like jet engine and her bones appeared to creak
loudly at every minute movement. Even her dress and her bra seemed to
strain as they expanded with every breath she took.

Michelle was carefully watching what was going on below. She had been
careless in replacing the ceiling tile, but it allowed her to peek down and
observe the three people around Tina.

Michelle saw one of the men lean over Tina. At first, she though he was
going to hurt her. Michelle was about to intervene, when he leant up.

"She'll be okay... as long as we get her back. She'll be in a coma for the
next week though," he said to Hank.

"Are you sure she's okay? These numbers look pretty bad," the other man
commented as he looked at the monitors.

"Yeah, this is what happens if they fight the attack," he pointed out. "It
leaves them in a deep sleep for days. I know it looks bad, but she'll be
fine as long as we get her back. If we don't get her back quickly, she
could be stuck in this state for months."

At that point, the man who had been talking to the nurse returned. "I've
asked around. Michelle disappeared about ninety minutes ago."

There were several groans of frustration around the room, that even
Michelle could hear from her vantage point above. Michelle then felt a
slight lurch as she fell a few inches toward the floor. She struggled to
remain silent, but she was in near panic as she realized what was
happening. Her telekinetic powers were weakening. If she stayed much
longer, she would end up falling through the ceiling, straight into their
hands. However, she used all her mental strength to try to stay as long as
she could.

"Well, we had better secure the area, then get after Michelle," one man
said.

At that point, Michelle felt that she couldn't hang around any longer. She
used her powers to float directly forward, until she found a comfortable
point from which she could rest.

"Yeah. Let's get after her," Hank said dejected. He knew that a
ninety-minute head start would put Michelle well out of their range and
probably into another search team.

"Hang on a minute," Hank said to the others as he reached the door. "I have
a better idea."

*****************

An hour later, Michelle was speeding down the highway as a single tear
rolled down her face.

Although she had wanted to stay around, she realized that events had moved
faster than she thought. She had briefly thought about taking Tina with
her, but there were four of them, with obvious re-enforcement's on the
way. Had Tina been in a fit state to travel, Michelle might have attempted
it, despite the long odds. But with Tina still in a bad way, Michelle was
forced to concede that she was now in their hands.

Michelle felt a mixture of emotions. She was pleased that Tina would
finally receive the help she needed. Michelle no longer feared for Tina's
life.

However, her feelings were slowly turning to anguish at Tina's long term
plight. She noted that Tina would be unconscious for the next week, which
bought Michelle a little time. Although Tina had reassured Michelle that
the Falcons would not hurt Tina, Michelle wasn't completely convinced.

Michelle knew that the situation had significantly moved on and that what
Tina said couldn't be taken for granted. The Falcons might try to force
Tina to reveal where Michelle was heading, or Tina may be forced into
revealing Michelle's secret.

Although Michelle had complete trust that Tina would never do such a thing
willingly, she was also aware that the Falcons may become increasingly
desperate and might also use various methods to extract the information
they required.

However, Michelle knew that she had a week with which to formulate a
plan. She wondered what she could do in that week. She felt a longing
desire to turn and drive to New Jersey and home. She wanted to run into her
parent's house and throw her arms around them.

Her anger at the way the Falcons had harmed Tina, also left her with the
feeling that she should go back, with all guns blazing, use her powers to
the fullest effect, grab Tina and ride off into the sunset with her.

At that point, Michelle cursed herself for not finding out whether her
powers could be used offensively against another witch. That was one of the
many things which Tina had briefly discussed as they started their journey
earlier and Tina promised that they would perform a quick experiment later
in the day to find out.

But Michelle was no wiser. If her powers couldn't be used against another
witch, then going back now, without a plan would be virtual suicide for
her. If they were prepared to do what they did to Tina, it showed that
their attitude to Michelle had hardened. They would be certain to kill her.

Michelle was forced to realize that the only viable plan she had left was
to travel to Las Vegas all on her own and retrieve her money. Even after
Michelle freed Tina, they would still need money. A round trip car journey
would take approximately a week, which was exactly how long Tina would be
incapacitated.

*****************

Tina was lying in a barn; her body still racked in pain. She didn't
remember much. In fact, the whole day was a complete haze. She could
remember escaping with Michelle yesterday and making love to her last
night. She could briefly remember waking up with Michelle, but everything
became hazy after that point.

She had no idea how she ended up in barn in the middle of a field.  After
thinking, she guessed that the Falcons must have found them, used a power
stone on her and somehow Michelle and Tina became separated.

Tina guessed that it must have been a very hard decision for her to make,
but she realized that Michelle had little choice. Her life would have been
in grave danger had she remained.

What Tina couldn't work out, was why she had only been knocked out for a
few hours? She had checked her watch and unless she was mistaken, it was
the morning after Michelle and Tina ran away.

A power stone attack usually leaves the victim in a coma for at least a day
and anything up to a week if the victim fights the attack. The only
conclusion that Tina could reach was that something had gone wrong with the
power stone attack, causing her to be only unconscious for a few hours.

Her thoughts turned to Michelle. She tried to remember where Michelle might
be going. Surely they would have made arrangements to meet up in case they
were separated, but Tina's memory was too hazed to remember.

But oddly enough, Tina knew deep down that Michelle could take care of
herself. She couldn't work it out because Michelle was now a helpless
female, but some part of her was telling her that Michelle was more than
capable of looking after herself.

All the same, she also felt the Michelle was heading into grave danger,
which even she couldn't handle alone.

Tina now began to wonder why the Falcons hadn't been able to track her
down. An attack from a power stone magically illuminates the victim,
allowing them to be easily tracked down, which was why it was very
difficult to ever leave the group. Tina had been expecting them to turn up
any minute, but so far nothing.

*****************

Michelle found that her face was impossible to keep dry. She had quickly
crossed into Pennsylvania and had continued on the route that she had
planned to go to Las Vegas.

At each exit, she literally had to grip the steering wheel hard and grit
her teeth to avoid turning back to Tina or to turn toward New Jersey.

Although her heart was almost tearing her to go back, Michelle knew that
such a tactic would be virtual suicide. Even if her powers could affect
other witches, she realized that she was still only one person. She was
hopelessly outnumbered.

Michelle glanced over to the empty seat beside her, that should have
contained Tina. As well as an empty passenger seat, Michelle felt a huge
void inside her soul as if a part of her had been ripped away. Last night,
when they made love, Tina had taken a small piece of Michelle with her and
now that piece was missing from Michelle.

Earlier today, for the brief period of half an hour, Michelle had felt
complete. She had finally revealed her secret to someone that
understood. Even being a woman didn't seem so bad in Tina's company.

But her euphoric feeling was now shattered. Again, she looked down at her
gorgeous body and felt a feeling of disgust that this body had caused her
so much pain in such a short time.

As she drove onwards, Michelle vowed that she would never abandon Tina,
because at that point, Tina was all she had to live for. She had lost
everything and everyone else. If she couldn't be with Tina, then Michelle
didn't think there was much point in carrying on. She would travel to Las
Vegas, retrieve her money, then return and attempt to free Tina. Michelle
worked out that in the time it would take for her to get to Vegas and back,
Tina would awaken from her deep sleep.

Michelle would then use any method at her disposal to free Tina and if
anyone got in her way, she wouldn't hesitate in hurting them. They could
then be together again. In their short time together, Michelle never said
one particular thing to Tina. Although she had only known Tina for three
short months, most of which had been over the phone and the Internet,
Michelle only now, realized how much she loved Tina.

As she attempted to overtake another car, she checked all of her mirrors
several times, for signs of pursuit. She hated this feeling of intense
paranoia, but she knew that it was a feeling she would simply have to get
used to.

*****************

Sarah was waiting at the rendezvous point, when Hank and Mary returned
several hours later.

"So What happened?" Sarah asked.

"We couldn't find them," Mary replied.

"What?" Sarah said shocked. Although using the power stone hadn't gone
according to plan, she thought that their capture would still be a
formality.

"Nope. Can't track them either. They got away," Hank said.

"What about Monica's cellphone?" Sarah asked.

"They switched cars earlier today. We found her car at some motel where
they stayed. Monica's phone is still in there, stuffed down the side of the
seat. They probably never even knew it was there."

Sarah sighed heavily at the news, before saying, "Oh, well, let me know
anything else." They both nodded. Sarah then turned around. Mary walked
after her to provide some comfort.

Hank waited until Sarah and Mary were out of hearing range and then she
turned to his associate and said, "Are the arrangements made."

"Yep. Apart from the us four at the hospital, no-one knows that we even
found Tina. We've adjusted the memories of the nurses and doctors at the
hospital. It was a kludge doing all those memories, but it should work as
long as it isn't questioned too much."

"Where's Tina now?" Hank asked.

"Still in that barn, where we put here. Are you sure no one else will be
able to track Tina?"

"Yes," Hank replied. "As long as we know exactly where Tina is, I can
divert the other search teams away from her so they don't pick her up,"
Hank said. "Are the two guys are up to the job of tracking Tina?" Mary
asked.

"Yeah. Now that they've "locked onto" her, they shouldn't have a
problem. They'll track Tina right up until she meets Michelle. Then they'll
deal with the problem," he said smugly.

Hank nodded his approval, then the man turned and walked away. Hank then
returned to his car and sat down to consider what he had done. He fully
understood that others had cast him as an evil maniac because he called for
Michelle's sacrifice. Instead, he thought of himself as a realist. He
genuinely believed that what he was doing, was for the good of their group.

He pondered over what had happened at the hospital. After he realized that
his main target, Michelle, had left, it occurred to him that Tina and
Michelle must have arranged a rendezvous point somewhere, or at the very
least, Tina would have known where they were heading.

Then one of his men reported that Tina was showing signs of emerging from
her coma and with a little help could be brought out quickly. Although the
usual knockout time was a week, Hank guessed that because Tina had been on
the limits of the range of the power stone, her coma would be considerably
shorter.

Hank was then faced with a tough decision. He knew that Tina would never
reveal to him where Michelle was heading. Even Hank was aware that Tina
could be a stubborn bitch when the wanted to be and if he tried to force
any information out of her, she could easily call for help magically.

Then, a point of brilliance hit him. They removed Tina from the hospital,
then placed her in a remote barn. Two of his men were now discreetly
tracking her.

He genuinely felt sorry for both Michelle and Tina. Deep down, he felt that
they probably didn't deserve what he had planned for them, but none of that
mattered. The only priority on his mind was the welfare of the group. He
felt passionately about his group and he would do anything to protect their
interest, including the sacrifice of one of it's members.

After all, it wasn't the first time he had to do it. Unknown to everyone
else, he had to sacrifice one of the Falcons twenty years ago to secure the
help of the Eagle's to prevent them from being wiped out. He smiled gently
in the irony. That person had been Tina's father and now, twenty years
later, her family line would have to grieve again in order for the rest of
the group to survive.

*****************

Tina was walking along the highway into the town ahead of her. It had been
an hour since she woke up in the barn and there was still no sign of the
Falcons or Michelle. Seeing a small town in the distance, Tina decided to
set about walking there.

Her state of concern was starting to turn into panic. She had soon
discovered that her powers were completely gone. She guessed that she had
used up her last reserves of magic to fight off the power stone's
effects. She could no longer cast a single spell. It would be weeks; months
even before her powers returned in full.

Tina really needed her powers. Without them, she was useless. But she
didn't only need them for herself; she needed them to protect Michelle.

Her panic started settling into a deep-seated fear that Tina had never felt
before. Ever since being an adult, she had always had some amount of
magical power to call upon, which guaranteed her safety. Now she was
completely helpless and worse, she had no idea where Michelle was.


End of part Two.


As I said at the start, I have no plans to complete this story. From the
very start, it was envisaged that the story would be three to four parts
long. Because I have had to stop writing, I do not know when (or even if) I
will complete the story, sorry.


Phil Stevens.
Phil_stevens@bigfoot.com