A Whateley Academy Tale
Jade 6-f – Dreams and Awakening
By Babs Yerunkle
47: The real thing
Whateley Academy, Poe Cottage November 22, Wednesday evening, 10:45 PM
Jade’s night was restless and filled with dreams. She would
fall into a deep sleep and dream that she’d achieved her deepest, fondest,
greatest wish. She’d actually become a girl! But then she’d “wake up” and
realize that it had only been a dream, and she was actually back in her
despised boy-body. In the midst of the nightmare, she didn’t realize that “waking
up” was itself a part of the dream.
But she’d been training herself into an unusual sleep
pattern. She woke up naturally (and for real) every two hours, more or less.
She’d recharge Jinn and Jann, perhaps go to the bathroom and have a glass of water,
and then go back to sleep.
Tonight, for the first time ever, she had the unfamiliar
experience of waking from a nightmare of being a boy, to experience the
dream-come-true of being a girl. There were certainly plenty of differences,
as she tried to go back to sleep. She could no longer sleep face-down. Even
on her side, things were different. Her hips and waist made the sideways
position quite different, and a little hard to get used to. When she lay on
her back, her boobs splayed out to the side. Also, the slight pressure of the
blankets on her breasts was noticeable. So she got as comfortable as she could
then charged up Jeanie, which left her groggy, but didn’t quite knock her out.
Charging Jamie used enough energy that she was immediately unconscious.
*****
The four of her spirits were surprised at the change in
their moods, as well. She’d expected little change, as Jinn. After all, she’d
been a girl since her very first appearance. She’d always been the “lucky
one”, since she got to be a real girl, unlike her poor physical self, trapped
in its inappropriate body.
Now that feeling was almost reversed. Her physical self had
the body and the sensations for real. Jade was the “lucky one”, and Jinn was a
girl, but not a complete girl, since she didn’t share the sensations and
reality of a physical body.
She was pleased to discover that the reversal didn’t make
her bitter or even sad. It was as if she were a mountain climber, reaching a
peak that she had struggled for so long to climb. Now, achieving her goal and
standing upon the summit, she saw an even greater mountain beyond. Perhaps
some would have felt bitter or betrayed that their goal was shown as
worthless. But Jinn felt only exultation. She had achieved her dream and
discovered a new goal beyond that – to achieve that same reality, true
girlhood, for her spirit selves as well.
As of yet, she had no idea what that might mean or imply,
but it was a good goal to pursue.
The four of her had learned that they could communicate silently,
telepathically. The naked “flesh” of her spirit-self was both vulnerable and
sensitive. All she had to do was reach out an exposed finger and penetrate
through the flesh of another self, and they were in mind-to-mind contact. It
was just as she’d learned to do as Jann, speaking mind-to-mind with her
physical self. When the two spirits overlapped, they joined. The main
difference was that as pure spirits, she had to resist the pull to combine. If
they didn’t brace, two of her touching would merge together like drops of water
touching, becoming a single spirit-self.
There were experiments to perform there, to see if that had
any interesting side-effects. But for tonight, the four of her spent their
time trying to stick to their usual routine. Jann studied and did her
homework, animating books, paper, and pen. Jinn roamed about as Shroud, a
black-cloaked ghost. Jeanie could read, and Jamie, the new member of the team,
roamed about as a SpySpeck, thinking deep thoughts or simply seeing what there
was to see.
Tonight, Jamie roamed over and around her sleeping physical
body, studying again and again her new contours, marveling at the joy of
finally looking like a real girl.
Sara had again given clues that she would be “busy” tonight,
so visiting her was out. Instead, Jinn roamed through her clothes, trying to
pick out her outfit for the next day.
And Jeanie hovered in thought, contemplating the meaning of
what they’d accomplished.
They would occasionally come together again to share a “can
you believe it?” moment, before separating and returning to their individual
tasks.
Jeanie made note of all the people she needed to thank.
First on the list was her oneesan, of course. Thuban, followed by the three
devisors. She reminded Jinn that whatever they wore needed to be appropriate
for visiting Thuban, tomorrow.
*****
Jade woke early, at five AM, her mind filled with her plans
for the day. It was Thanksgiving, and for the first time in her life, she was
filled to the brim with thanks. She wanted to begin dispensing those thanks as
soon as she was able. So she dispatched Jinn to the cafeteria, leaving Jann on
guard in the room, while she showered.
The shower was delightful. A little of it was the knowledge
that she no longer had to hide, tucking away her shame. Some of it was the
stimulus of the water pouring over every inch of skin. Much of the delight was
feeling her skin in its new shape. She had drips where she’d never had drips
before. Her new body washed up a little differently, too. The regular soap
felt a little harsh when she washed “down below.” So she just rinsed, trying
to make sure she got clean with just water and hand scrubbing. It was pure
delight to consider a delicate questioning session with the other girls,
finding out how they recommended cleaning up down there.
She kept getting distracted by her skin. She’d been
expecting to feel super-sensitive, as if girl-skin was inherently more
sensitive than child-skin. That didn’t seem to be the case. But her skin
tones were just a little off. She was just a touch lighter than she’d been,
just as Tennyo had skin that was a shade lighter than Jade’s. It was her hands
that threw her, more than anything else. Her hands were longer, but more
slender than they’d been yesterday. Even the nails and cuticles were
different. And… she double checked to make sure… there was a spot on the back
of her hand where she’d been burned, a month ago, in what she privately dubbed
her “worst day.” Today the shiny-smooth patch of scar tissue had vanished.
Which made sense as she thought about it, since this body had come from
Billie’s template, and Billie didn’t have a scar across her hand. Jade
spent a moment looking over her new self, trying to see if she’d picked up any
new scars. So far as she could tell, her skin and complexion were both
perfect.
For the first time, toweling off was a fun experience. Her
hair hadn’t gotten any longer, so she didn’t need a towel-turban for her head.
But when she did the classic “girl wrap” around her torso, this time she had
something up top to hold the towel in place. And she didn’t even bother to
slip on panties. First, she wanted to make sure she air-dried down there, but
more important, she was no longer afraid of revealing any dreadful anatomical
shame. From now on, if she accidentally flashed one of the other girls, she’d
only be flashing what was right and proper for a girl to have.
Another early-morning girl entered as Jade finished wrapping
up. It was Vox, one of the other black girls on the floor. She gave a
suspicious look, a sort of “who the hell are you?” glance, before her eyes
opened wide.
“Jade?”
Jade just nodded back in delight.
“What the hell happened to you, girl?”
“I grew up. With a little help from some devisor friends.”
She looked away shyly. “Like it?”
“Dayum! You’re growing into one fine woman!
“Thanks, Vanessa.” Yes, she’d be giving a lot of thanks
today.
Back in the room, she finished getting dressed before Billie
woke. Billie was normally up before anyone (except occasionally a lingering
Jinn), since she had early-morning flying classes every day. This time, she
had everything spread out when her roommate first woke up.
While Jade quietly dressed, Jinn stood waiting in seiza,
holding the tray of food like an offering. It may have been that aroma that
roused Billie. The girl yawned, rolling over. As her blanket slipped down,
one perfect breast was nearly exposed through the top of her twisted
nightgown. Still not opening her eyes, Billie reached up and rather crudely
scratched at the underside of her right breast, unaware of how that caused her
nipple to dance about, nearly popping loose from its clinging concealment.
Billie’s nose twitched, as she sniffed again. Apparently not believing the
scents being delivered to her, her eyes popped open to verify the information.
Only to see Jinn, kneeling in the seiza position, offering
up a breakfast tray with cool orange juice, bacon, jellied toast, slices of
melon, and a very large cheese omelet.
“Huh? Whazzat?” she mumbled.
“It’s Thanksgiving, oneesan. I have so much to be thankful
for, and I thought I’d start by doing something nice for my most favorite
person in the world, my big sister. I know this isn’t much, but maybe it will
hold you over until you can get a real breakfast.”
Billie sat up, scratching now behind one of her protruding
ears. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Jinn smiled modestly. “You know by now that it’s no trouble
for me.”
“Well…” Billie reached for a strip of crispy bacon. “Maybe
on Thanksgiving, I guess.”
Jade had finally resorted to casting Jann into her shorts.
They’d been loose on her boy-body, but they barely stretched around her newly
enhanced hips. She’d recycled an old pair of jeans, cutting off the legs
completely. The challenge now was to zip the zipper and button the top
button. Jann had to nearly apply two hundred pounds of pull before she could
fasten the snug shorts into place.
“There.”
Jade turned around, showing her scavenged outfit. Her top
was a green blouse with a torn sleeve. She’d removed both sleeves, and tied
the bottom up in a knot under her breasts, making it into a Daisy Duke style halter
that left her midriff exposed. The tight, ultra-short shorts added to the
image, emphasizing the length and shape of her legs.
Billie almost choked on her bacon.
“You’re not going out like that, are you?”
Jade’s new-found confidence wasn’t shaken. “Why, do I look
bad?”
“That’s not the point! Do you want all the horn dogs
on campus to be getting off on you?”
Jade just smiled serenely. “I’m so happy with how I look
now! Is there anything wrong with sharing that?”
“You don’t mind the thought that they’ll be undressing you
in their minds, and imagining all sorts of sick fantasies?”
Jade shrugged, not losing her smile. “It’s kind of a
compliment, isn’t it? Anyway, it’s not like it’s really an issue. I’ll be
with friends for most of the day. Nikki and Sara will be there for breakfast.
Between them and you, oneesan, it’s not like I’d be noticed that much.”
Billie was eating some toast now. “’s not the point. But,
hell, I guess you can figure it out on your own.” She looked down at Jinn,
still kneeling as she held the tray. “You don’t have to do that, you know.”
“I need to show you how thankful I am, oneesan,” Jinn said
with quiet conviction. “You know that this is no inconvenience for me. If I
could show my thanks by bringing you some early breakfast, or being your
servant for a day, a month, or forever, I gladly would.”
“Uh… yeah. Look, I don’t really need a servant. The whole
idea makes me just a little uncomfortable. And, much as I like the idea, we
aren’t really sisters.”
“Aren’t we?” Jade asked. “We didn’t share the same parents,
much to my regret, but look at my body. How much have I inherited from you?
Would ‘mother’ be a more appropriate relationship?”
“No, no!” Billie waved her hands frantically. “Sisters is
fine! I’m definitely not ready for motherhood yet! It’s just…”
Jade stepped up and took Billie’s hand, clutching it to her
chest between her breasts. Billie looked a bit befuddled to be touching
another girl so intimately, but Jade didn’t seem to notice.
“Oneesan, I will never forget what you have given me. Not
just the body of my dreams, but the sacrifice you’ve made for me, the support
and love you give me every day, and your friendship. I know you’d probably be
happier if I backed off a little, but I promise you I will find a way to
express my gratitude. Something that you’re more comfortable with. But you
need to understand how I feel right now.” She stared into Billie’s eyes with a
look of total devotion. “If you needed it or asked for it, I would give you
anything I have. My body, my life, my soul, anything.”
Billie snatched back her hand as if burned. “O—okay. Um,
you aren’t suddenly into other girls, are you? I mean, this is Poe.”
Jade looked puzzled. “I don’t think so. I’m not sure what
I’m into yet.”
“It’s just that you were offering your body. It sounded
sort of like a come on. You aren’t looking for a girlfriend or anything?”
“No. I just wanted you to know how I feel.” She suddenly
seemed to get it. “Oh, you mean, ‘here’s my body’ like I wanted to sleep with
you!” The idea made her grimace. “With my sister? Uh… for anyone else but
you… but if you wanted, I guess.”
Billie waved her hands again, emphatically. “No!
Definitely not!”
“Oh. Okay. Good.” Jade looked down at the empty plate.
“I’ll take care of that while you shower, okay oneesan?”
“Yeah. Right.”
“And happy Thanksgiving!”
Tennyo was so befuddled on her way to the shower that she
never noticed that she still had one breast hanging out in the open. The other
girls definitely noticed, but this being Poe, no one complained about the early
morning treat.
*****
The gathering clouds did nothing to dampen Jade’s euphoric
mood. Choosing to sleep in a little over the holiday, most of the gang was
fairly slow to climb out of bed and gather for the trek to Crystal Hall.
Apparently unaffected by the weather, Jade practically skipped her way there,
showing an appalling amount of flesh in her Daisy Duke outfit. The most
covering she had was a pair of black leather cuffs that covered each forearm.
“Oops, can’t forget my purse! ‘Cause I sure don’t have any room in my
pockets!”
“Give me a break!” Nikki complained. “You must have
something you can wear!”
Practically glowing and obviously unaffected by the chill,
Jade snapped back with a “Nope! No money, either, since I gave it all to Bunny
yesterday.”
“Huh?” The elf-girl’s puzzlement vanished like a bubble
popping. “Oh, ‘the project’!”
“Yeppers!” Jade held up one arm, displaying the
martial-arts-style bracer. “So now I’ve got no clothes that fit, and nothing
to buy them with, and you know what? I don’t care!”
“Waitaminute!” Toni cut in. “What project? And what’s with
the bracers? And why hasn’t anyone loaned our poor friend some clothes? And
why the hell aren’t you freezing your tits off, girl?”
“The answer,” Chou pronounced, “lies not in protecting one’s
self from the elements, but in accepting nature and coming to a personal
accommodation with it. Besides, she never asked to borrow anything.”
“Well it’s not like I’ve got any panties to lend out!” Toni
raged. “Not after someone’s monkey friend did his little raid.”
“Uh, if it’s all the same to you,” Nikki said, “I won’t be loaning
any of my panties out. Not loaning them and wanting them back. Ick.”
“Double-ick,” Jamie said from the back of the crowd.
“Not that anyone would want to borrow your panties, Spooky,”
Ayla teased. “Aren’t you always shedding in them? Fur, or scales, or
feathers, or who knows what?”
“Do you even wear panties?” the Amerind shot back.
“Sure,” Ayla drawled. “But it’s purely a comfort thing.
Nothing sexual about it at all.”
“Enough!” Toni roared. “Why is it that every single
conversation we have inevitably degenerates into either lingerie or hygiene
products? I want to hear about this secret project!”
Unfortunately, Bunny was absent, so all eyes turned to
Nikki.
“Nope,” the future elf queen insisted, “not my business.”
“I remember!” Billie suddenly hollered. “Is this that whole
… Project A-Ko business?”
“Bingo!” Jade did a couple of cheerleader-style hops,
waving her arms in celebration.
Sara had silently drifted forward, and now observed, “Well,
the wrist bands are sort of A-Ko, but you’re a long way from the ripped
schoolgirl uniform look. And your hair’s all wrong.”
With a suddenly furtive look, Jade gave a stage whisper and
said, “Follow me at the next corner and I’ll show you!”
So, still out of sight of Melville, the gang of girls (plus
Hank) stepped a few feet off the trail into one of the “picnic glens”. Jade
waited until there were no other students passing by, then leveled her arm dramatically
at the gray granite boulder, a hundred feet deeper into the woods. “See that
rock?”
“Yeah?” Toni answered, “what about—”
Before Toni could finish her quip, Jade thrust her arm
forward and said, “Fire!” Immediately a tiny missile, less than six inches
long, shot out of her wrist band and streaked toward the rock. The path was a
twisting, spiraling scramble. An instant later, the face of the rock erupted
in violent orange flame as the missile exploded against it.
“Holy crap,” Ayla burst out. “You’re packing missiles now?”
“That’s so sweet!” Billie sighed. “Now I won’t have to
worry about you so much.”
“How’d you do that?” Jamie wondered.
“Well, duh,” Jade told her playfully, “I am a devisor, after
all. You guys are acting like you never met a girl who carried high
explosives.”
“Uh, how many rounds are you carrying?” Toni asked.
“Well, the bracers are actually a titanium shell, with
cavities for the mini missiles, but I’ve got fifty missiles on each arm. Only
about half of those are explosives, though, ‘cause I’ve put together a real
general-purpose mix…”
And with thoughts of clothes and indecency forgotten, the
girls headed on toward breakfast, their heads dancing with girlish thoughts of
ordinance, delivery methods, and various payload combinations.
*****
“And a happy Thanksgiving morning to everyone on campus!
WARS, the Whateley Academy Radio Station is coming to you live, as always, and
we’re here in the cafeteria on this fine holiday morning interviewing people to
find out what they’re truly thankful for. Let me ask my faithful minion,
Greasy. Hey Greasy, what are you thankful for?”
“Peeper, as I look around this fine cafeteria on this cold,
dreary, overcast morning, I can’t help but feel the warmth, and smell the
veritable feast cooking inside.”
“Unusually eloquent, my oily friend. Some might say, uncharacteristically
eloquent. I ask again, what are you most thankful for?”
“Well Peeper…”
“Yes?”
“I’d have to say… tits.”
“Now that’s more like it! Give us some details here. What
exactly are you most thankful for, about tits?”
“Well, Peeper, if I may continue to wax eloquent—”
“Wax being the operative word in your case.”
“—uh, yeah. Anyway, I could talk about tits all day. The
shape, the size, the way you can sometimes see nipples barely hidden under a
shirt. I love ‘em all. Big tits, little tits, tiny little girl tits that have
just started growing in, to thunderous melons that bounce and strain inside
their tight fabric containment.”
“Let’s not wax too much, Greasy. My bruises haven’t all
healed yet. But, as ever, my eyes can’t help but enjoy the visual banquet spread
before me as I survey the female flesh that we are treated to, here at the
nation’s premier school for ultra-super-babes. Do I see the Cape Squad, over
against the far wall?”
“Hey Peeper, how do you think Mega-girl got her
name?”
“Tempting as it is, my slimy little friend, let’s not go
there. Instead, how about we check out the Goths?”
“How about we don’t?”
“Motion passed! Perhaps you’d prefer the Literary Club?”
“Hey, isn’t that Team Kimba?”
Peeper’s voice suddenly perked up. “What, you mean the
Bathrobe Babes? The Bouncing Buxom Beauties, the Pretty Princesses of Poe, our
own Negligee Nightingales?”
“Uh, yeah. Over behind the planter.”
“Greasy, my friend, I think in honor of Thanksgiving, we owe
it to our audience to answer the question that I think is burning on everyone’s
mind today: Who’s got better boobs – Tennyo or Fey?”
“Gee, that’s a tough one. Are we considering everything, I mean,
size and shape? And how about clothing, cause a lot of times Fey wears
that lace, and you can, like, barely tell where her nipples are, but Tennyo,
it’s like half the time she forgets to even wear a bra—”
“Boys, I’m shutting this whole conversation down.”
There was a moment of stunned silence, before Peeper quickly
found his voice again. “For those of you who aren’t receiving our non-existent
visual feed, we’ve just been joined by Whateley’s own lead model, Poise, the
head of the school fashion club and elite clique associated with it, Venus,
Incorporated.”
“Hello to my fans out there, and if there are any of you
actually listening to this broadcast, I want you to know that I’m deeply disappointed
in you.”
“Miss Poise—”
“It’s just ‘Poise.’”
“Well, who do you think has a better rack – Fey or Tennyo?”
In a weary voice she answered, “Boys, is it possible to
raise the level of discourse just a trifle? Before the united mass of
womankind joins forces to wipe you from the backside of existence?”
“We’re willing to talk about personality,” Greasy offered.
“And figure. But I’ll only trust measurements that I get myself. And face, of
course. Can’t overlook the fact that a few of the girls here are definitely
coyote ugly.”
“You know,” Poise informed him coldly, “that sort of talk is
never going to win either of you a girlfriend. I mean, ever.”
“You aren’t feeling threatened, are you?” Peeper asked, as
if sensing a weakness.
“Peeper, Greasy, it’s possible to talk about fashion and
beauty and grace without degenerating into sewer talk. You might gain a larger
audience, and it’s even remotely possible that some girls would find your show,
and perhaps even the two of you, appealing.”
There was a moment of silence before Greasy thoughtfully
wondered, “You’re jealous aren’t you, ‘cause Fey’s got a bigger rack.”
“What?! Look, I’m trying to help you here!”
Peeper sounded thoughtful. “She’s got a point, Greasy.
Maybe if the school’s modeling team would cooperate, we could talk a lot more
about fashion and style and modeling poses, and stuff like that.”
Greasy was puzzled. “Are you serious, man?”
“Well, I’m thinking of a Whateley version of the Victoria’s
Secret catalog.”
“That’s it,” Poise announced. “I give up. I’m out of
here.”
“She’s afraid to show it off, like the Negligee
Nightingales. Told you they were bigger.”
That was the day when Poise lost hers. “Look you stupid
little worm! I’m a senior! They’re freshman! Of course I’ve got a
bigger cup size, if that’s the only thing on your pin-sized little mind!”
“Whoa! Gauntlet thrown!” Greasy observed.
“You heard it here, folks!” Peeper intoned. “And I think,
on behalf of WARS’ own official mascots and dedicated targets, the Negligee
Nightingales, we are forced to accept this challenge! We’ll need some
impartial judges. The ninjas? Naw, bad blood there. Not the Dragons or
Tigers either, ‘cause there’s that whole martial arts rivalry. Definitely
not the Alphas!”
“How about the Leet Phreaks?” Greasy offered.
“Perfect! The only guys who get even less than we do!
We’ll recruit them for a hands-on, live boob feel-off!”
Wearily, Poise asked, “You two haven’t heard a word I’ve
said, have you?”
“Nope!” Greasy cheerfully answered.
“Alright you morons, I’ll short circuit your stupid little
game right now. You’re comparing the school’s models against Team Kimba?”
“Exactly,” Peeper eagerly agreed. “And no doing Fey vs.
Fey, because how would you choose? Left vs. Right? I mean, fun to judge, but
is it fair?”
“Well then, let’s do me, the lead model—”
“Hey, this is sounding real,” Peeper interrupted.
“—against that little oriental girl that hasn’t even entered
puberty yet! She’s flat as a board.”
“What? NO FAIR!”
“Idiots.”
*****
“I’m just saying that it’s not as simple as that,” Sara
mentioned. She carefully placed the now-empty cage behind her seat.
“What is there to debate?” Toni wondered. “No MID means no
Whateley, no plane trips, and the government hunting you down like a bunch of
clanners. Doesn’t seem like a big source of debate.”
“Maybe not for most people,” Sara agreed, “but the
government is already hunting me down, with orders to kill—”
“That was the syndicate, not the government,” Chou
interjected.
Sara’s jaw firmed and her eyes went hard. “There are things
that I can’t tell you about the CIA, and what they’ve done…”
“Well if you can’t tell us, we can’t discuss it very well,
can we?” Fey said, sounding quite reasonable. “For me it’s easy. No MID and I
effectively cut off any further relations with my family.”
“Which is why it’s different for me,” Sara continued
patiently. “My ‘family’ doesn’t even inhabit this dimension. As for plane
trips, there are a dozen ways around that, including both teleportation and
extra-dimensional excursions. For that matter, I might even get an exemption
on religious freedom grounds.”
Jamie sighed. “It must be nice, being the head of your own
religion.” Under her breath she continued, “Rather than being at their mercy.”
Erin nodded silently at that but said nothing, inscrutable
behind her ever-present sunglasses.
“What about Whateley, and your friends here?” Jade
continued, looking at Sara.
“Well, the science department has already banned me, and the
library is still holding a grudge. Since I’ll be learning my own style of magic
and working mostly on my own—”
“Thank God,” Fey muttered.
“—I wonder if I might do better learning the attack/defense
stuff over at ARC. The offer has been made often enough, and I’ll bet they’d
overlook the MID angle, if I transferred.”
“So.” Chou’s words were a statement, not a question.
“You’d leave your friends.”
“If you all accepted my mark,” the demoness mused, “it
wouldn’t matter where I was physically. We’d always be together.”
Billie was typically blunt. “Sorry. No way in hell.”
Toni snickered. “Very appropriate phrasing.”
Chou wouldn’t let it go. “Do you want friends, or servants
and slaves?”
“Friends, of course.”
“Of course,” Chou echoed.
Sara’s eyes narrowed, and the shadows seemed to briefly
gather around her. “You could ease off my case, Balance Keeper. I’m trying to
be honest here.”
“You don’t want to mark us,” Jade announced. “Or I mean,
some of us you shouldn’t mark.”
Chou turned her gimlet eye on the newly-grown girl.
“Weren’t you the one begging for a mark, and begging to host her spawn, not so
long ago?”
“Yeah, well.” Jade shrugged. “Sara was right about that.
I guess I’ve moved past that. And I admit I said a few things I regret. Can
we forget about that? But this is important, Sara! Remember when those
assassins got you, and injected you with,” her eyes flicked over to Nikki “that
stuff?”
Sara gave an ironic smile. “No, it slipped clean out of my
memory.”
“Oh, be serious. Anyway, you were completely out of it, at
least for a while. So maybe you didn’t notice it, but we think that everyone
else … connected … to you, they were all pretty gone, too. Meaning, if you
were counting on them to help defend you, fat chance.”
Sara looked startled, as if she hadn’t considered this.
The younger girl continued. “And sometimes, when you get a
little, um,” she blushed “emotional? I think those connected to you get kind
of a little wobbly, you know?”
“No, I didn’t know, although I should have. It’s one
of those things that become instantly obvious in retrospect. So, you sound
like you have a solution already in mind.”
“Well…” the younger girl nibbled on the tip of a finger “I
was thinking that I hang around you a lot already, at least at night. What if
I didn’t do it as Shroud, but did it as your bodyguard?”
Sara rolled her eyes. “Were you there for Halloween?
Sorry, but the idea of you being my bodyguard is just a little...
silly. No offense.”
Jade winced but continued gamely on. “Oh, come on! You
don’t need a bodyguard who can throw you to the mat each and every time.
Sometimes you just need someone who can be alert while you relax. Sometimes
you just need an extra set of eyes. And sometimes, a little help doesn’t hurt,
when you’re incapacitated, or distracted, or whatever.”
Sara smiled fondly. “And you’re nominating yourself for
this position?”
Jade looked a bit embarrassed. “Well, I was thinking it
would be cool to do a ‘Men In Black’ thing. You know, snazzy black suit, dark
black shades. I don’t say much, but I’m there ahead of you or behind you, just
to sort of intimidate the minor nuisances out of the way, or give you a head’s
up when something major comes down.”
“You don’t even own a black suit, much less an expensive
one,” Sara pointed out.
Jade nodded eagerly. “I figure, as my employer, you’d be
providing that. OH, and some really freaking huge rifle! Maybe you could
offer to fund some devisor, I know you’ve got the cash.”
Sara groaned and rolled her eyes, but she had a look of
amusement on her face.
“No, think about it!” Jade insisted. “I’m there carrying
this whopper cannon, but it’s mostly just for show. I mean, sure, the
canon’s real and everything, but I’m mostly there to give you some style.
You’re a real princess, after all! You need someone to push ahead of you in
the crowd, or stand behind you and watching your back. Just to keep the minor
pests away. And for the big guys, they’ll blow me away first, which gives you
some excellent advance warning!”
Sara shook her head in amusement. “You’re setting yourself
up as a target to get ‘blown away’? Sometimes, just sometimes, I love this
place.”
Jade shrugged. “Well, you play to your strengths, you
know?”
“I’ll consider it. I was afraid that you were thinking more
of a valet role, which would certainly make Siffy mad. But if you were
deferential to her, too… she might actually get into that. And it might be
better than having her just rip people’s heads off. It might be fun, but you
realize that it would be occasional moments of mortal terror, interspersed with
lots of play acting.”
Jade glared at her. “Play acting? OF COURSE it’s play
acting! What’s wrong with you? That’s the whole point of this place
sometimes!”
Even Billie stared at her.
“Oh, come on, people!” Jade hollered. “We’re talking about
getting MIDs – double-secret ID cards – and picking out hero names, and maybe
costumes. What’s the point, if we aren’t doing it to have some fun?”
“I was told that I should play more,” Sara admitted. “And,
no offense, but I’d much rather watch Jinn going down in a hail of gunfire than
see the same thing happen to Siffy.”
Jade smirked. “I’d give a better death scene too, so long
as I’m allowed to overact a bit.”
Billie looked toward Jade, a little too casually. “So…
you’re definitely getting your MID? You’re going to stay?”
Jade looked back. “You’re staying?”
Billie nodded. “Yeah, I kind of have to.”
“Then me too.”
And that was that.
48: Suspicions
Whateley Academy, Crystal Hall November 23, Thursday, Thanksgiving Day morning
After breakfast, the crew scattered. Most of the girls
headed back to the cottage, a few headed in other directions. Nikki, however,
lingered at the table. As Sara rose to leave, Nikki reached out for her arm.
The demon princess was a study in contrasts. Many people
wouldn’t dare touch her skin – they knew enough about her to recognize the
mortal danger, the terrifying thing concealed beneath the
pleasantly-shaped surface. Others saw only the surface, or felt the
ever-present background radiation of sexual energy. Those desperately wanted
to touch the girl’s skin, but refrained, either out of politeness or knowledge
of the pale girl’s reputation. The elven princess was one of the few who would
touch, even grab Sara with neither lust nor fear topmost in her mind.
“What?” Sara asked.
“We need to talk,” Nikki coolly informed her.
Sara looked around in disbelief at the crowded cafeteria.
“Here?”
Nikki picked up a glass salt shaker and unscrewed the lid.
The lid was simple sheet metal, not cold iron, but even so she only touched the
metal while using a napkin as insulation. Her unconscious habits were slowly
but surely becoming more cautious. Nikki muttered a few guttural syllables
under her breath – words in no language currently spoken on Earth, words that
were snatched away by the air before they could travel farther than Sara’s
ears. In response, an unseen knot of mystic forces took shape from the air,
and took hold of the now opened salt shaker. The tiny spirit dance joyfully
along, pouring out a small amount of salt in a circle on the ground, around the
table and the two girls sitting there.
“A sylph?” Sara asked, one eyebrow raised. “What--?”
Nikki held up a hand, signaling to wait. She didn’t speak
this time, but made a subtle gesture with her left hand as if tying a knot,
then she sang a single pure note. Instantly a bubble formed in the air around
the two girls, briefly distorting the outside world and suddenly reducing the
volume to a whisper.
“You’ve gotten a lot better,” Sara complimented.
Nikki shrugged. “A handful of spells, only. Those I know,
I’ve got cold. Still mostly cantrips, though.”
The demon gave a glance at the circle and the air around
them. “I like that it will distort lip-reading, and provides a false murmur of
sound from us.”
Nikki looked at her companion curiously. “You can tell that
just by looking at it?”
The demon-girl shrugged. “Doesn’t do anything to stop
telepaths.”
“I figured you could handle that part,” Nikki admitted.
“I’m working on something much better, but I need a few more hours to complete
the inscribing.”
“Consider the telepathy handled. Now, what did you want to
talk about? And why here?”
“It’s as good a spot as any, and it isn’t Poe, where we
might be interrupted by the well-intentioned,” Nikki explained. At Sara’s
acknowledging nod, she continued. “It’s about … Jade. I’m happy for her, but
worried. I mean, really worried. And looking at you, I got the idea that you
felt some reservations of your own.”
“Definitely. But since you started this…”
The elven girl sighed, and slowly blinked her impossibly
large eyes. “Okay. I’ve been working on the ‘Jade problem’ for a couple of
months now – pretty much ever since I met her. While I’m still a beginner in
the arcane arts, I have certain … advantages. I’ve even tried a few tentative
investigations – nothing Jade knew about, just initial probes to check the
possibilities. And every single time I’ve been blocked. I mean, blocked
solid, like running face-first into a granite cliff. So I’ve … reached … I guess
that’s the word I’d use, I’ve reached through Aunghadhail.” She smiled. “I’ve
gotten some good practice with you-know-who. Anyway, each time I tried
reaching for Jade, when Aunghadhail was there, it was almost as if the wall was
even harder. Which doesn’t make any sense at all.”
“Maybe it does.” The pale teenager (that’s what she
appeared to be) steepled her fingers and gazed through hooded eyes. “I’ve been
doing my own investigations. I’ve used my own knowledge, the Tablets of
Gothmog, even the Waite Collection.” If she noticed the elf-girl flinching at
some of the names, she paid it no mind. “And although I don’t have a solution
yet, I have definitely detected a magical influence over the girl. It’s
extremely elusive – unless I work at it, it’s very hard to spot.”
Nikki’s large eyes narrowed. “You have trouble
detecting it?”
Sara nodded.
“What does that mean?”
“It could be any of a dozen things,” the Goth offered. “A
slow but subtle spell, worked over years. It could be something carefully
being layered onto her, by a trusted friend that is physically or emotionally
close. It could be an inherited curse, growing more refined with each
generation. Along the same line, the possessor might be possessed herself, but
it would have to be a very old and cunning spirit. It might be the work of
some brilliant master, or the type of unlikely accident that occasionally crops
up at this school. There are certain spiritual entities… In any case, my
research continues.”
“And that’s why you didn’t take her up on it,” Nikki
realized, “when she practially begged you to turn her into a brood mother.”
“No ‘practically’ about it,” Sara said. “That’s exactly
what she offered. Whatever I would have of her, so long as I could make her
female. And I’m sure that I could do that to her body as easily as a child
reshapes clay. But I know a little something about souls, and I suspect that
the magic we’ve both sensed is attached firmly to Jade’s soul.”
“So you reshape the body, only at the risk of damaging the
soul.”
“That’s one possibility. Another possibility is that the
soul would simply be ejected.”
“Meaning?”
Sara shrugged her shoulders.
Nikki continued her musing. “But the devisor creation
worked. My best magic – such as it is – bounced, while some stupid mad
scientist lash-up worked.”
Sara nodded. “And Jade’s soul is both present and healthy.
I checked that rather extensively during the night. There are some advantages
to never needing sleep.”
“So we both failed, while the gizmo crowd succeeded. Maybe
the day of magic really has passed.”
“Or perhaps,” Sara suggested, “we both failed precisely
because we’re using older methods.”
“Meaning?”
“I’m not sure yet. It’s an intuition. You know how those
can be.”
Nikki nodded, with a wry smile. “Old curse vs. old-style
magics, results in failure. Old curse vs. new techniques, results in success?”
“Perhaps.”
They sat silently thinking for a moment. Sara sat like a
patient predator, while Nikki wondered if she should mention something that
might be no more than a case of nerves. Finally, the elf-girl admitted, “There
is one other thing.”
“Two things, by my count. I wondered if you had noticed the
same things I had.”
Nikki scowled across at her sometimes-friend. She wasn’t
sure she liked it when Sara slipped into her Elder God persona. Admittedly,
when she slipped into her Aunghadhail aspect she could be a bit of a stuck-up
know-it-all herself, but at least she didn’t project this whole “I’m infinitely
superior and all-knowing” attitude. Did she? “Well, it’s just that, in the
last couple of days, something about Jade changed. It was before the physical
change. A couple of days earlier than that, I’m sure.”
“Definitely. The magic around her – at times, I might
almost think it was watching me.”
Nikki laughed. “Nice to know you Class X entities can be as
paranoid as the rest of us.”
“I’m serious. It’s very well hidden, but try to pin down
the spell. It almost feels like there’s an intelligence there. A soul of some
kind, directing it.”
“Whoa, hold on there. A soul-powered spell? If so, you’re
talking the blackest of black magics.”
Sara gave a truly evil smile. “That’s from where you sit.
My family just thinks of it as a reasonable engineering compromise. But, no,
if true, this pushes the possibilities more toward the ‘powerful entity’
options.”
Nikki couldn’t help shuddering. “Remind me to stay far
away from your relatives. And from you too, if you even think of something
like that!”
“I’m not exactly tempted toward that direction. But in all
honesty, I’d have to say that it depends on the soul, and the situation. I
won’t promise never to do that, no matter what. The universe is too large, the
possibilities too endless for that promise to be meaningful.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be comforting me, and convincing me
that you aren’t evil?” Nikki grumped.
“I’m trying to convince you that I’m honest.”
“Hmph. Okay, so we both agree that the magic or whatever has
changed. What was your other thing? You said there were two things you’d
noticed.”
Sara didn’t answer for a moment. Instead, she looked around
furtively, in a way that was quite unlike her normal attitude. “This time,
maybe I am being paranoid. Maybe it’s my own suspicions and fears…”
“But?”
“Jade again, of course. We just finished deciding whether
to get MIDs. What did Jade decide?”
“Hello? Weren’t you listening?” Nikki flicked the tip of
her own pointed ear. “She decided to get one. It was almost a non issue.”
“My hearing is fine. How is your memory? I ask again,