The Hermit

Eva gripped her mug too tightly and stared into it. She tried to listen to the woman. The skin-shifter. As she talked to her about the ‘change’. She nodded occasionally, but really her mind was numb. There was no righteous rage. No desire to go berserk on these rebels. From the point of infection onward was almost dream like. As her body convulsed and warped without her control. It was the most excruciating pain she had ever experienced; unbearable, tearing and twisting pain in every fiber of her being. She felt as though she was being ripped apart and pieced back together and then that is what happened. Eva blinked back tears and tried to pay attention again. No matter what else happened she needed to know the basics of this curse if she was to forge out on her own. She would survive.

“As I said, it will be unstable for awhile. Some learn control quickly. Some of us can quite smoothly change with little effort or pain even. Or partly change. It all depends on how closely you pay attention to your body, the signals it gives. But there are times, when you are emotional, that instinct takes over and the change will take you. Some of us learn to know the warnings of this and take measures to seclude themselves or calm themselves. The first time is always the worst,” Karen said. It was hard to imagine the petite little blond shifting into a panther. Karen pursed her lips with a slight frown. “Some never learn control. They give into the beast. Either they shift to animal form and never return to their human skin or we are forced to kill them as they are a danger to others. It is not often. Just sometimes.”

“Right,” Eva said, thinking of Faust when she did. The knowledge that what she had changed into had been caused by her own thoughts never left her mind. It meant in some way she was partly to blame for becoming a skin-shifter, rather than something like Cisily or Orian, who looked no different and whose abilities were controlled by their will. They could hide their monsters in plain sight.

“Now the time you can do nothing about is the three days of the fullest moon. The change will take you on those nights, whether you like it or not. We have isolation chambers for that, or when you feel up for it you can choose to go into the wild. Once you get used to your animal nature, you really are no danger to others in animal shape. Well, unless threatened like any animal would react. I mean, we also have a bit of the beast in us just as we have some of our rational minds in animal skins.”

Eva glanced up at that. “But I’m not a werewolf.”

“Doesn’t matter. We all feel the pull of the moon, just not as much as a wolf-skin, who completely succumb to their animal nature. So they never remember what happens during that time. You will remember some things, vague impressions, scents. You will have control, but will have to have an understanding of your instincts.”

“And possibly kill some stranger when I do?”

“Most of the time you can keep a lot of your mind intact for the change. There are a lot of instincts and desires in that form, but you still have some control. It takes time to tame this in you, but when you gain control you will be able to do that without the risk of harming someone.” Karen took a sip of her tea, her light blond hair dipping forward. She set the cup aside and said, “I have always had a little trouble with control. Even before. The idea of doing anything that might affect my judgment was something I avoided. So controlling the change and dealing with the way it has changed me was a little more difficult for me. So perhaps being a mage will help you in this way.”

Eva sighed. “Not so much. Granted the ability to grasp the magnas and mold it requires a mind capable of understanding the world in a different way. The art of crafting spells more so. But the skill of casting requires a firm focus and organized mind.”

“Are you sure? Faust is anything but an organized mind and he is the best spell caster around,” Karen said, not with the awe of a youth but with the appreciation of a woman.

For a moment Eva felt a surge of possessiveness and rage. She swallowed and gripped her cup harder. Somehow her extremely casual, and rather embarrassing, attempted liaison with Faust had turned into something different. It was beyond jealousy, it was more that she felt she owned him, and would harm anyone who thought otherwise. These animal urges were not so easy to control even in human form. “He is different. An intuitive mage. An innate skill.”

Karen studied her a moment. “Perhaps I should mention the permanent changes of the skin-shifters. You have likely already noticed the enhanced senses.”

Eva grimaced. The acuteness of her sense of smell was making her nauseous. The hearing was both distracting and grating.

“There is also, I suppose you would say the instinct to interpret people. I would say a deeper understanding of what is going on with them emotionally. A understanding of who is prey, I suppose, or who is lower in pack hierarchy. We all have it, but perhaps as a tiger-skin yours might not be as strong. Wolf-skins are very pack orientated and it comes out in their personalities. One thing that comes out of us all is more aggressive personalities or traits or perhaps less of a desire to repress this.”

Eva took a sip of her tea, finding it cold. She swallowed with a grimace. The idea that these animalistic desires would take away her self control was disturbing. It was bad enough she would have to endure the change, letting this tiger take control of her. But to have it effecting her when she was in human form was unacceptable. She tapped the table thoughtfully. “Faust claims I unconsciously effected the form of this change within me.”

Karen shrugged. “He comes by the theory soundly. It is not as though it would change anything. Most people cannot eliminate their inner thoughts at such a moment. Even those that did not know the change was upon them were affected in different ways.”

“So, of course, this makes Faust special. Being the only adult changed like a child in the womb,” Eva said darkly. She was getting a little tired of his reputation.

“Not necessarily, although most believe this makes him chosen by the Sector. It might just be not only being aware of the change but truly uncaring as to what it did to him. You… didn’t see him back then.”

Eva thinned her lips. No, she had not. Instead of being there for him, when he truly needed a friend, she had turned her back on him. And he took a self-destructive stroll into the Sector itself. While he had stayed and was there at her side for her first change into a beast. She could even tell he was enraged on her behalf and considering these had been comrades and friends for some time that was saying something. That meant he truly considered her a friend.

“What do the Sector creatures think of such an idea? That they were created from the fancies of people?”

“They are separate from that creation now. It’s a stretch to think that our collective minds created them, not so much that our own minds chose the shape of our change. It is a better question to wonder what they will do if the Sector is threatened. To be changed by this energy is far different than being born from it. All of their abilities and magic come from that energy. That alone makes any threat to their home very real. But we cannot speculate what would happen if that Sector energy were gone. Perhaps they would be destroyed completely.”

Eva frowned, regarding the fae she was not certain that was a bad thing. “That apparently is the idea. With anything tainted from that energy.”

“Exactly. Including you. But when your very existence is tied to that area, born from it, from the same essence, well, lets just say people have reason to distrust the fae. Most of them don’t look well on humans, although some do not mind the changed.”

Eva let out an explosive breath and put her head in her hands. Both unchanged humans and Sector born felt they were struggling for their way of life, or even their existence. While she had been converted to the cause of people changed by the Sector, even she could not deny the threat of the Sectors growth on all of civilization. To the nature of the people, to order, and to all the magic people depended on in their every day lives. If magic were to be tainted by this essence, civilization would revert to a pre-magik state. Energy would influence them rather than mages influencing the flow of energy. “So the only solution is to contain the Sectors, but leave them be. Make sure they don’t grow and also not destroyed. While I’m not fond of the Sector born being around, it seems a compromise must be reached.”

“They have every right to exist as much as we do. They were born when these Sectors appeared, they have been around a long time. Some are even fifth generation. Whatever gave birth to them they are quite beyond that.”

“Is Faust planning on figuring out what is going on?”

“Yes. He said the reason for its growth will be found in the Sector itself. He wants to know what caused the Sectors, since if we understand it we maybe be able to stop the growth. Or maintain it. I hope some sort of truce can be found and if Faust finds a way to stabilize the Sectors then there is hope. If the people outside know it will grow no further. If they understand the Changed cannot infect them. Although some are of a mind that we must show our strength and make them wary of hunting us.”

“And how is he going to do that?”

“I believe he mentioned he was going to go ask the dryad. One of the strongest fae entities created, who is completely dependant upon it and might know more about it. She is the Guardian of the woods. Certainly she will know if the fae are behind its growth. And she should know what has changed to cause it.”

“Well, I’m going with him then.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’re newly changed. You would find leaving now would be difficult. And you must come to terms with the fact your role and job are finished. We will try and integrate you here.”

A lot of what the girl said came down to that. Forget her old life. Develop her abilities and learn her new nature. Rational. However, she was not feeling rational at all. Her ‘old’ life had been ripped from her by those that wanted to show her the path into a new one. That simply was not going to happen. Whatever life she now had, it would be on her terms. She could not live around those she could never trust and who did not deserve her loyalty.

“I don’t think so. This change may have destroyed my life, but I’m still an investigator by training. It may be helpful for me to learn these things.”

“That may be so, but I don’t know if she will want you there. Most of us can’t even go into the depths of the Sector like he can. Firstly, because the fae have no problems with the changed children and Faust is like them. Secondly, because we were changed by the influence of this energy and the Sector can harm us and affect us in different ways.”

“I’m going,” Eva said, standing up. “And I would like to see him stop me.”

She left the room and went back to the front of the tavern, where she had no doubt he would be. No matter how much his bad habits were to maintain a ‘façade’ they were still habits that existed all on there own.

Faust watched the tiger pace in front of him warily. They had Eva chained to the wall with a thick collar around her neck. Her bright golden eyes were locked on his as she paced. He had the distinct feeling of being prey in her eyes and was not too sure how much of her mind was still with her. He sighed and lit a smoke, taking a long drag and waiting for the shift. Eva growled and he raised a brow. She made a beautiful creature. A white tiger, with black markings. He did not realize tigers were so large until he was locked in the room with one. A very cranky one at that.

“I regret this,” Faust said. “I really do. I would never have forced the change on you. I had no intentions of bringing you here at all. If you don’t know about the place, you can’t tell others. Besides it would compromise my position to have you know of my… extracurricular activities. And my nature.”

Eva hissed.

“You certainly are stunning,” he remarked. “I mean you sure let that inner tiger out. It has been caged too long.”

Eva growled deeply, her tail sweeping across the floor. She swiped with one massive paw. Her pacing became more agitated and she maintained a low growl.

“It is all right, darling. Just let the change flow through you. I hear it is less painful that way.”

Eva leapt at him but the chain yanked her back. She roared and turned away. She crouched in the corner and glared at him. The first spasm made her stretch out and close her eyes. Faust watched the transformation stoically. It looked excruciatingly painful, with bulging muscles and snapping noises. Faust had seen it before and it was not nearly as disturbing as the first time. While Eva twisted on the ground she ripped the collar from her neck, scratched the walls with clawed hands and then vomited violently. When it was finished she law panting in a pool of blood, water and hair. Eva pulled herself away from the mess. She sat up and fell against the wall. Her body trembled and with shaking hands she rubbed her face. “You bastard. You betrayed me. Dragged in into the barrier where I would be defenseless,” she whispered, her voice harsh and ragged.

“I told you, I had no such intention. As I recall, you dragged me into the barrier.”

“I didn’t know you were one of them,” she hissed.

He studied her a moment, getting a little angry at her racism. “Now that you are ‘one of them’ you’ll begin to understand how the Changed are not somehow twisted or sick. And they are not out to get humans, as though some sort of evil has seeped into their souls to consume all goodness, rather they are defending their right to exist at all.”

“You changed me into the very creature that killed Liz,” she said, angry tears filling her eyes and a heated flush on her cheeks.

“Actually, it was never proven to have been a skin-shifter attack. In fact, there was a lot of evidence that suggests it was made to look like a skin-shifter attack. First of all, none of the Changed would kill a purely changed child. They practically worship them. Nor would Liz have been unable to deal with such a threat. And there was spell residue in the area. Not hers and not mine. No, some government agency killed my wife and daughter and made sure I thought it was a Sector beast. Which I didn’t.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Well, I wouldn’t believe me either since I’m ‘one of them’.”

“I hate you,” she said flatly.

“More than you hate yourself?”

She snarled. A sort of deep guttural snarl that made her eyes glitter for a moment.

“You destroyed my life and you have been toying with me. All this about your coming here with me to solve some grand puzzle is ludicrous. You have been helping them all this time. And that means you would never help RI contain the Sectors.”

“I’m curious about the nature of the Sectors and this recent growth. While I don’t see it as the same sort of threat the government does, I do understand its disruptive nature. You’re my friend and I wished you to know what is happening down here, truly know, and just that alone would have been dangerous knowledge. I have an intuition as to why you were changed into a skin-shifter as well. Its an idea that has been forming in my mind for some time.”

“I don’t fucking care about your damned theories. I was changed into a shifter because my belt was taken from me.”

“Obviously. But how it changed you is what interests me. Around these parts you can expect to see quite a few skin-shifters, wolves and panthers mostly. A few nymphs, a tribe of centaurs, a mara and a few oni. For animal changed there have been at least one roc and a griffon seen hunting this area and they have been breeding winged horses. For those born of the Sector we see elves, fairies, pixies, the green skinned feeorin. In the Sector itself I have heard rumors of a few unicorns and there is one powerful dryad. There is a region in the northern section that has succubae and incubi. This is not the same mix you will see in other Sectors. Why do you think we only see these sorts of changes, that clearly represent mythical creatures from our own culture and some cultures from our neighbors?”

“I don’t care.”

“Well a mara is a thing to be scared of, although not as scared as one would be of the Sector born Succubus. A changed mara is a woman who can manipulate dreams and create nightmares. The story is said to come from how some people have a sleeping disorder where their body is still frozen in sleep, they are still dreaming, yet they feel awake and have perceptions of being awake. This is where stories of Incubi and Succubae come from as well. So if they never existed then why do we see them now? The oni are rather like shape shifters, but they change when they are upset in some way. Their skin turns blue, they get claws and they have great strength. This myth is based on the island dwellers that lived a couple centuries ago that used to paint their skin blue on battle days and were known for their berserker tactics. The fae were myths that explained anything unexplainable and represent our culture when we respected and feared the forces of nature around us. None of these things are based in reality.”

“They are now. Are you saying this is some sort of illusion? Like Glims or a mass delusion,” she said, but her tone was caustic. He was hoping to temper some of the raw emotions with the awe inspiring power of his reason. That or bore her to tears. Better than being shredded by a tiger.

“Not at all, but when you add in the fact that mages are more susceptible to the change and you begin to see what is actually going on.”

“I don’t get it. My mind doesn’t take intuitive leaps of fancy like yours does.”

“Take Orian for example. A farmer who lived in an area close to the barrier. A man who always felt more comfortable with the animals he bred than people and who was renowned as a trainer. The barrier grew just a little and he was infected when he was fixing his fences. Did not even know it, so he certainly did not fear it. He came down with a fever and when he recovered from it he went back to work. As a man who feels he understand animals, or wished he could, it is an amazing coincidence that he developed a very strong ability to communicate with them and control them. His wife, although not at the time, was also infected without her being aware of it. All her life she had sleeping disturbances that both gave her frightening episodes of being frozen in sleep, vivid dreams where she knew she was dreaming and so forth. She developed an ability to influence dream reality.”

“So you’re saying who they are influenced what they changed into? And what does that say about me then? That I want to rip your throat out and eat your flesh?”

“Tigers don’t eat people, usually, but maybe that is how you feel. You’re missing the point, but perhaps using you as an example will assist you. You feared the change and when you did, it brought specific fears to mind. You thought Liz was killed by a skin-shifter and so perhaps at that moment you feared that more than any other choice. Add in an element of anger and the desire to fight back. Are you so surprised then that this is the change that took place?”

Eva sat a little straighter. “Are you saying that I’m to blame for what I changed into? That I chose this?”

“Actually, in a way, yes. Those who fear the change and fear the idea of being certain creatures, will often have the more violent changes. Often what they truly fear they will become, they become. Those that fear the taint will kill them, often die in a very unpleasant fashion. Records indicate death was more common in the beginning, until the notion that the Sectors were evil in some way caused some of the changed we see now, in creatures we typically think of as evil. It was then that we began to see creatures emerge from the Sector itself, as though walking right out of history.”

“We influence the changes? The change depends on what the person is wishing or fearing?”

“It seems to feed off that, yes. Unborn children are not so effected. Unless the mother had some fear of what that child would become. Those ‘purely’ change are the blank slate we should consider the true effects of the Sector. No physical alteration, except the black eyes, pale skin and black hair. No extra influences involved. And those children show remarkable talents for seeing energy flow and being able to alter it intuitively.”

“So I did this to myself,” Eva said flatly. “My fear manifested itself into reality.”

“Essentially, yes, but it seems some ideas are bound to influence someone infected with this energy. We are not blank slates, darling, there are always desires, wishes and fears in our deepest thoughts.”

“Except you. Your hair is black again, by the way.”

“Right. Spells don’t stick too well when I let in the barrier influences, because spells are surface changes, not essence changes. And there is very little special about what happened to me, love. Just the state of mind. I was in despair, but far too much the coward to end my own life. I went right into the Sector, took off my shield and willed the energy to take me. I welcomed the change. I did not fear it. I had no unfulfilled wishes or desires. I was an empty shell seeking my end. And it filled me.” Faust shrugged. “Rather cathartic really. Not in the least painful. And the world was revealed to me with new eyes. I never thought the world a calm and organized place anyway, so this was just an affirmation of it. All life altering and all that.”

“It doesn’t help me any though, does it? The change is permanent. My essence has been altered, no matter how my mind assisted with it. It doesn’t matter how it was accomplished, or the fact this force is not evil. It is done and my life, as I knew it, is finished.”

“Oh, darling, it is just begun. What sort of life was it anyway? Towing the RI line. Becoming more firm and rigid as time passed on. Bah. Boring.”

“It was my life,” she said, her face flushing and for a moment her eyes glittering like a cat‘s. “And now I’m a creature to be feared or at best pitied. Left to hide in the barrier like everyone else, lest Enforcers come and take me away. Now I will have to hide or I will be exterminated. I will not be able to hide among others like you.”

“Well, that is overrated anyway. Always playing the fool can be tiresome. But no one pays any attention to a drug addicted drunk, wallowing in self pity. In time, when you control your shift, you can hide rather well. We have some skin-shifters who live outside of the barrier. If you want, we can fabricate a story of you quitting RI to work with me, then you need no fear detection and we can work together. You will still be able to control the magnas outside of the Sector influence. It is just that now you are part magical.”

“They did this to me,” Eva said. “Ruined my life and changed my existence in a second.”

“Don’t blame them, they are fighting for survival any way they can. You don’t even know what you would have done if discovered how to destroy the Sector. You might have chosen to confide that with your superiors, not knowing how it would affect their lives. You might have thought me to be mentally influenced by the Sector energy and not to be trusted. And even if you didn‘t, someone could make you talk. Enforcers and field agents are good at making people talk, before they die.”

At a knock at the door Faust stood up. The metal door swung open and in walked Cisily. “Faust, I told you to tell me when she reverted. She’s going to want a bath and some clothes.”

“Sweetheart, it’s not the first time I’ve seen her naked,” he said and watched Eva blush and attempt to cover herself. “Besides you said we should talk and so we did.”

Cisily handed Eva a bundle of clothes. “You can leave now. Wait out front. We have a panther-skin here to help explain the details of her condition. There is not much more you can do.”

“Cisily, did you know what Orian was going to do?” Faust asked.

She thinned her lips. “No. You know what I think about that. This idea of converting the enemy will lead to more people being hurt. And more desperate changed people willing to work with the enemy in hopes someone can cure them.”

Faust nodded. “You’re lucky she is only a Junior. Still they know where she is and what her assignment was. And they consider me to be… useful. They may investigate.”

“I’m sure you will be able to answer any of their questions. After all, you can even pass their detectors. There is no risk of you being sent to one of their compounds.”

Faust nodded and left the room. He was far from pleased with this development. He would never have wanted Eva to become hurt or to deal with the challenges of being changed. Yet these people were his allies and Eva was now safer among them than her own people. No matter how angry he was they forcibly converted her, without even discussing it with him, he still understood their motivation and would not discard them as allies. He could not discard them. Not yet.

Faust felt the moment they passed through the unseen and unmarked barrier. He felt the distinctive tingle across his skin, saw the shifting of energy around him. It took considerable effort to keep himself from responding to that energy. To ensure his eyes did not turn the black that would mark him as infected. He did not think Eva could quite take that. She might even try to kill him. For his own good, of course.

No matter what she had seen at the compound, she would still believe him twisted in some way or at the very least ill. He did not think if she learned he had been infected years ago in a fit of self destructive despair it would ease her alarm any. He wanted her to understand the Sector as it truly was and perhaps that had been his true motivation for the journey. Sometimes he did not even understand his own motives, there were simply too many of them to bother reflecting on. He certainly did not care about her advancement in RI, an agency he now hated with a passion. No matter who Eva had become she was still one of his oldest friends, since early childhood and for someone who tended not to develop long lasting friendships that meant a great deal to him. Why he felt it imperative to ruin his closest friend’s life by disrupting the very principles she lived by he chose not to think on. Although, perhaps there was a reason he did not count that many people friends.

Faust was not at all alarmed by the changes he had gone through. His had not been anything monstrous or violent. In fact, it had opened him up to a world he could not entirely grasp with his intellect or through his daughter’s eyes. Since he could hide his ‘markings’ he had been able to live amongst others undetected, which suited his allies in the Sector. The way he had been altered, while fundamentally changing his essence, did not alter his ability to use magic. If anything he was able to do more with magic, although the influence of the Sector made his nature lean towards his Sector nature. As with anyone else, his primary spells did not work in the Sector, but he had been able to alter some. The problem was that spell would not stay contained to the defined parameters, they spread and while doing so became unraveled in some ways. Much like the difference a ripple would be in water compared to oil. He had experimented with the energy quite a bit, although by its nature it was far more unpredictable than magnas. The magnas was a current of energy felt outside of the body. Those skilled could open themselves to it, pull some of it in, but too much and they would fry themselves brainless. A highly sensitive mage, such as himself, could feel and see the magnas currents, but the feeling was of a sharp pressure outside of himself. The dark energy was felt from within. As soon as he crossed the border he felt grounded to that energy, part of it and his awareness even spreading through it. It was an energy that was almost alive. He responded to it as much as it responded to him.

As they went deeper into the Sector he noticed Eva was getting nervous. Made her more snippy, a thing he thought impossible until she disproved the theory. Likely from losing the ability to flee across the border easily. It was days before they entered the area designated officially as the border line. That is, the old border line. It was marked with stone pillars on the roadside. Within those pillars were strong field magic, designed to contain the influence and to warn of trespassers. However, the spells never held up for long. They degraded constantly and needed continuous maintenance. When the barrier had bulged outward, it would easily have surpassed the shield, disintegrating it. It was in fact a false sense of security they provided. It did warn Enforcers of anyone escaping, which is why anyone who wished to pass needed someone mage skilled to sneak them in or out, but it would take them awhile to erect a new spell.

Beyond the markings they saw no signs of civilization. No cultivated fields, farmhouses or domestic animals. They came across an abandoned village and some old burned ruins. He would have avoided the crucifixes if he could, to spare Eva, but the Enforcers ensured there were plenty of warnings along the borderline. Eva did not say a word when they passed a hillside marked with forty neatly rowed crucifixes and none of the corpses strung up on them were decayed beyond recognition.

Eva was meticulously gathering information. Some of her instruments would still work for days yet and she used them to get every reading she could. It amused Faust, since he had never known a problem to be solved by looking at deviations in calculations. If you could not form a pattern with all the facts, then you could chart and graph all you liked and it would make no difference. Yet that was her purpose, to collect and gather as much information. While he, with his immense genius abilities, was simply to come across the reason why the Sector grew. Take the information and weave it into a theory. He could whip out several serious sounding and convoluted theories in his sleep. However, he knew enough about RI to know they would take that theory and decide whether they needed to implement more serious measures against the Sector.

It was fortunate then that he had a great deal of experience within the Sector, spoken to a number of people within it, and studied it himself from both directions. He made sure they avoided Enforcers, although Eva trusted him enough to know he could guild them where they needed to go. He knew they were there because he could feel the disturbance in the darker energy fields. He could feel them in precisely the opposite way of anyone changed by the dark energy; unchanged were little void bubbles that drew his attention because of the lack rather than the presence.

He took them on a generally northerly course, diverting into the woods to make them less noticeable. The woods in the barrier grew faster than outside, making the trees immense and imposing, but not nearly as intimidating as within the core. The dark energy literally effected all life forms, even if that was not as dramatic as it did with the mage talented. He had not considered it would make them easier to track to those the lived in the woods; mainly rebel scouting points watching the Enforcer movement. Seeing the large wolf, a beast the size not found in nature was his first indication he had not been paying as much attention to the Changed presences near them. The fact a man could change into his wolf-skin and gain significant mass quite contradicted some basic magical theories, but what those theories failed to account for was that dark energy altered beings could draw energy in to be altered according to their changed natures; such as gain mass. That alone was impressive and perplexing, since usually that meant the wolf-skin actually had more mass in their changed form than in their human form. It put a dent in his conversion of energy theory and he had yet to replace it with a theory that would account for how beings in the Sector drew from the environment.

His movements within the Sector were usually unhindered by the locals who knew him well. He understood why they would watch them closely, but they also knew he had been vital to their cause. He had in fact created a way for them to hide in the barrier. He helped get people across the border line and safely in their hands. Helped them set up a system to smuggle people out of communities and across several routes within the barrier.

“Ah, damn,” Faust muttered.

“What?”

“Someone is coming,” he said. He stopped and waited for them to approach, hoping it was just a friendly warning of their presence. They did not bother trying to elude him in any way. They knew he could feel the currents of energy around him stir. Hell, the Changed were like a heavy object being pulled into the gravitational field of a heavier object, namely, himself.

The wolf let himself be seen first, padding up to them with his tongue hanging out. Eva grabbed Faust’s arm, while pointed and looking alarmed. She would only become more so when she realized it was not just a wolf. Eva let out a yelp when a woman appeared out of thin air. Faust could see the disturbance the woman created around her, so he was not surprised. When Eva looked like she was either going to bolt of faint, he took hold of her arm and gently told her to calm down, in a tone that implied she was being hysterical, which then, naturally, irked her enough to shed her fear. Faust became a little more concerned when a winged man landed and a fae man stepped out as well. It was never a good thing when someone felt the need to double the odds.

Two of the four were familiar to him. “Aneese, Roiger,” Faust said with a nod. Aneese was a thin, sleek woman with liquid brown eyes. She exuded sexuality even though the part of his brain bound to animal instincts screamed predator. She was also a vampire, with plenty of the mythical markings of it, except she did not fear sunlight. If she was not fed and she was in direct sunlight she would get blisters and a horrible sunburn, but did not, fortunately, spontaneously combust. She did feast on human blood, because her body needed the life force of another to survive and blood was the way she was able to tap into that force. Roiger was a lean sinewy young man, with agile grace and a wild look to his blue eyes, but at the moment he was a wolf, with a very wild look in his eyes. He had been born a skin-shifter and as such the man could easily shift into a wolf and had never lived beyond the barrier. Not too many people knew that once the change was enforced then that person would have children marked by it as well. Not something RI wanted to get out. It suggested the change was permanent rather than an illness. It would freak the peasants out to know the monsters were breeding.

“We have been expecting you,” Aneese said.

“Oh?” Faust inquired, lifting a brow. He had not been expecting himself, so he imagined the stretch it would take to expect such spontaneous movements. She referred to, of course, they had intentionally crossed paths, as they had known the moment he crossed the line. To the Changed who were sensitive to such things apparently Faust was damn noticeable when he crossed and they could sense him anywhere in the Sector. While that could be annoying in some situations, it saved him time in finding a way to get a message through he was coming.

The other two, Faust did not know personally. The one with the broad bat wings was likely a scout. Eva was staring at him with wide eyes full of a wee bit of wonder, a load of fear and just a tad of scientific curiosity. Likely thought he looked like a demon. The other had markings of what people termed the ‘fae’, his skin was alabaster pale, with peaked ears, arched eye brows and oddly sparkling blue eyes. He must have glamoured his presence, because now, he was the most heavy of them all. All the Changed had a weight to them, a condensed essence of dark energy, but they fae were altogether different. They were not human at all, but a race spawned from the Sector, resembling ancient lore. It was one of the reasons people believed the Sectors were some sort of wild ancient magic, giving birth to creatures living only in legends. Postulating theories of the cyclical nature of the world and energy, such that the past occurred again in new form. Faust thought someone would have to be completely blithered to give credence to such a theory. They should not be so concerned at how they came to be and a great deal more in how much more vested they were in continuing to be. The fae may have wild magic but they were saturated with it and had a damn high advantage within the Sector itself. Unfortunately, outside of the Sector they basically ran on a combination of innate reserve energy and a thin tether of energy to the Sector. The longer they were away from it the weaker they became until they eventually died.

“We are bringing you back to the village,” Aneese said.

Faust eyed them all, a few spells flickering in his mind. He really did not want to hurt them, especially when he did not know their intent. “I’m a little busy right now. Business in the Sector and all that.”

“We know exactly what you are up to,” the fae said. “Working for humans.”

That tone was full of loathing, ice and nothing nice. Humans hated the fae and the fae hated them right back. That was why Faust usually hung with the Changed, who were caught in the middle by no fault of their own.

“I don’t see what business that is of yours, elf,” Faust said, studying the man. He knew some of the elves who lived in the Sector and although they all had the same look about them, Faust found him to be familiar. Familiar in a very alien sort of way. His eyes were too large and tilted upward. His face too lean and sharp. Just enough off human in experience to be damn obvious.

“The name is Eligah. And the Sector born have a great deal of interest in humans wishing to destroy our land.”

Faust shrugged, glancing at Eva. “Well, I’m not working with RI, er… humans. I’m doing a favor for my old friend here, who really cannot be judged solely on just her humanness. You, Aneese, know I would never help RI with anything.”

“Yet, she is on assignment. Sanctioned by RI,” Aneese said.

Eva released a soft choked gasp. Frankly it would not take much to know she was an RI agent and any task benefited them and no one else. Likely Aneese had questioned their contacts who had already spoken to Faust, but Eva would not know that. “We are to take you to the village to talk to Orian. Please don’t argue the issue.”

“Darling, you know I would personally slit a vein open for you,” Faust said with a teasing grin and a lewd sweep over her body. She would be insulted if he did not notice how stunning she was.

She smiled back, flashing her elongated teeth, which was more worrisome than sweet. “Then let’s get back. It is nap time for me, Faust, and I was none to pleased to be trekking after you. No matter how sweet your blood.”

“Please. Wing boy here, likely knew exactly where we were.”

The winged man frowned but remained silent. Faust had learned the silent ones were the dangerous ones.

“Come on, Faust,” Aneese said. “Orian will be pleased to see you.”

With a sigh, he took Eva’s arm to guide her forward, because she seemed transfixed in fear and did not look inclined to move. He did not worry over it. Once the conversation sank in, she would bounce back with some healthy anger. Roiger slid back into nude human form and Aneese handed him a pair of pants. Being a skin-shifter and totally unfamiliar with the notion of modestly he likely would not have cared one way or the other.

They headed northward with the winged man and the elf following behind Faust and Eva. Eva was looking both upset and furious. She glared at him. A mighty fierce glare of outrage. The flush to her cheeks and the thinned lips only adding to the intensity in her eyes. “Why didn’t you do anything?”

“Like cast some sort of abrupt combustion spell?” Faust asked, amused.

“Sure. Anything.”

“Granted I can cast a spell faster than most, but how fast do you think I am that I could cast four spells before they killed me? And they would kill us both then, for pure spite.”

“You have spells that attack far more than one person and some that cause unconsciousness.”

Faust grinned. “I wasn’t aware you were so knowledgeable about my repertoire. However, I’m unable to predict the future and the spells I have running through my brain are not quite so efficient. Unless you think one to spark a small fire would be in some way productive.”

Aneese glanced back at him with an amused half-smile.

“Besides, darling, we are in the barrier, even I cannot predict how well a spell will take.” Nor did he want to show her just how much he was influenced by the wild energy.

A little quieter Eva asked, “And how the hell do you know these people?”

“He has been an important supporter of our movement. Getting people out of areas where they can be safe in the barrier. Setting up the shield of illusion that masks our village and deters people from investigating the area. Helping with treatments that assist the changed with dealing with their new natures,” Roiger said, bluntly honest either to annoy Faust or because he saw no reason to deny Faust’s achievements. Bloody inconvenient timing.

“Thanks, mate.”

“Anytime,” he replied with a wolfish grin.

Eva gave the man’s back a startled look. The flush vanishing and her face looking pale.

“Skin-shifter,” Faust said. “The man can hear like a canine, literally.”

“Exactly,” she hissed. “Such a man killed your wife and child, Faust.”

“Faust, it amazes me you would help such a woman. Her prejudice is staggering,” Aneese remarked, in that upper class tone she had that was truly condescending no matter what she said. “And her thoughts are worse.”

Eva glared at the woman, obviously mentally throwing daggers.

“Vampire,” Faust said, with a shrug. “Also very good hearing. Something about predators that brings out the enhanced senses.”

“And we would be the prey.”

“Faust is not prey,” Aneese said with a deep, sensual chuckle. “He could never be prey to the Changed. He was chosen. Or I should say he chose. The Changed don’t get such choices.”

“What does she mean by that?”

“Ignore her,” Faust said. “She’s just upset I’ll not be willing food for her.”

“Except once,” Aneese said. “Very tasty.”

Faust groaned, he pictured her licking her lips as she said that. It had indeed been tasty. A vampire had the amazing talent of inducing pleasure when they attacked a victim, in order to make the victim willing and to decrease the pain. He had only done it to save her life of course. The fact she was a stunning, seductive creature that gave him such immense pleasure had not been considered at all. It made him wonder about the Incubus and Succubae that were created out of the Sector, what pleasure they could conceivably induce. Unfortunately, he never had the pleasure of meeting one. They lived within the Sector and hunted in civilized areas. A vampire was really just a changed human that functioned the same way, sucking the life out of you, but vampires needed blood as a conduit. He wondered why the Sector created always seemed to be stronger and were such close patterns of old myths. Whereas, the changed humans followed more local myths and sometimes were different variations. He would have to get a grasp of the distinction in order to understand the source of dark energy. What he knew for a fact was that when a human changed it was not in a set pattern. Vampires were vampires for sure, but they were not a species with defined characteristics. Some had abilities others did not. Some were allergic to garlic and turned into bats, while others turned into mist and could be chased away by religious objects.

“I asked you a question,” Eva said sharply.

“Right. What was it?”

“Doesn’t that make you one of her slaves?”

“I’m not a vampire,” Faust said, specifically. “A vampire can change another into a vampire. But it is a choice, there is blood exchange and some venom they extract from the teeth. And just to make you feel safe, it is highly frowned upon. As for skin-shifters they are born from others of their kind or changed by the Sector, a bite from one will not infect you. We are trying to get the Changed safe, not populate more of them for our enemies to find.”

“You just said our enemies. God, Faust did you have any intentions of helping out at all? Or is this a ploy to get me out here where I conveniently die?”

“Fuck me delirious, you have such a mind. Have you ever thought maybe you would want the whole picture instead of the limited understanding you had? To understand the treatment of the Changed is irreprehensible and must be ended? It must be ended now. That perhaps having someone in RI that knew what was going on would be a good idea? That maybe you would come to understand working with these people,” Faust said, with a long sigh after. “I don’t want you dead. First of all, you are not important enough to the system to be killed for your involvement. I don’t give a damn about RI. I was interested in the puzzle, it is one more piece and I feel soon I will truly understand what the Sector is.”

“If RI finds out about your activities they will kill you.”

“Darling, they spy on me constantly, because they know my views on the situation. All I have let them see is a juiced and blithered man, who does contract work. I spent a great deal of time on making sure that is what they saw. My yearly trips here, they believe are me coming to the place my family was brutally slaughtered. They rarely follow me on these and are easy enough to distract when they do.”

“Only a juiced and blithered fool would be helping them.”

“I’m helping save lives from the fate you saw. Now that you know that, would you say you would not do the same?”

She shut up, which was good because she was not exactly giving them a good impression of her. He was not entirely certain he could convince Orian that she should not be killed. It would be better if she kept such thoughts to herself.

“Please,” Anesse said. “You can’t recruit from RI, Faust. The propaganda stick beat them a little too hard. Hells Bells, most of them have been fed it from birth. Our condition is not one known to happen to the nobility after all. They would not be hanging around us peasants in order to be infected.”

It was a long walk and equally quiet. He offered Eva some of his rum and she took a few swigs. She did not consider him an enemy yet, but certainly she did not think him an ally either. Having an old friend from his old life intersecting with his associates in his new life was not a good idea at all. One he had intended to avoid.

Faust saw the massive dome spell he had created, taking two years to complete it and six months to implement. No one else would be able to see it, although even with the buffers he put in, there was a chance Enforcers would lock down on it by checking field emissions. But they were not looking for spell discharge, simply taint.

When they walked through, Eva gave a startled gasp as the village appeared before her. Tiny stone cottages with modest gardens in the back. A well at the city centre. A tavern, which also was the village meeting room. Utterly mundane looking. The only difference was the people. Some looking perfectly normal, while others had more obvious markings. Noticeably there was a centaur and a winged horse. Small winged pixies zipped around in the air, likely carrying messages or gossip. Other fae were present as well; an elf, a feeorin and a few sprites. The sprites looked like smaller versions of elves, but were more inclined to integrate into human society. The feeorin were generally neutral to humans and tended to only involve themselves in events that involved singing, dancing and a copious amounts of alcohol. Faust knew many of the local feeorin quite well.

“What is that?” Eva asked, pointing to small green skinned fellow.

“A feeorin,” Faust replied, giving the man a nod. “One of the fae races.”

He could literally see her eyes take everything in, absorbing it into that perfect memory of hers so she could report on it later. What she did not know was that a perfect memory matter not at all when there were races that could erase it or ensure she was never able to reveal anything she discovered. Some parts of Research spent all their time gathering information on races and their abilities. Eva would not have had the time or the access to get through their work and their work was severely limited.

They were taken into the tavern. Eva visibly looked away from any small children, those marked by the Sector by their eyes. Black eyes, with no whites.

Inside the tavern they met Orian. Orian was the self-proclaimed mayor of the village. A role he claimed because of his changed nature, that of a beast master. He could keep those with animal natures in line and his wife could manage the rest. He had managed to create a safe haven for the changed within the barrier and aimed to keep it civilized. Still, he looked a lot like the farmer he had been. A scruffy, barrel-chested man, about a foot shorter than Faust and a few decades older.

“Faust,” Orian greeted with a wide grin. A smile that said ’you are a good friend but fuck with mine and you will die.’ “You didn’t mention you were visiting the barrier. You know Cisily is going to be upset you did not come to visit us.”

Faust grinned back, not at all fooled by the light tone. Orian protected his own and killed to do so. He had learned to do so. Developing a secure town in the borderline had not happened overnight. Orian had to fight to survive at first and then make allies strong enough to support him in his efforts. “No doubt she will suitably punish me with several guilt nightmares. Still, I find myself here.”

“Yes you are. You understand we keep a close eye on RI movements. Never know when they are going to plan a massive sweep into the barrier. You can understand how we were worried when you began to associate with one of them, without informing us of your intentions.”

“My intentions ever remain neutral, Orian, and quite frankly, my own. I would never let any harm come to the Changed. You know that. It is just the puzzle of what the Sector is and the most recent growth has inspired me to look into it again.”

“It doesn’t matter what it is, only that it is,” Orian said.

“You know that is not true,” Faust said. “Just as I know there is no treatment for the Changed and their state is a permanent one. Whether the Sector is here or not, the Changed will remain as they are. However, the Sector is a threat to the government. Its mere disruptive presence has been a constant concern for them. If this threat becomes too great there will be a more aggressive move on it and all those Changed from it.”

“The Sector is the home to the fae. They would be a little more upset if it was destroyed,” Orian said. “And they have as much a right to exist as anyone else does.”

“The question is why do they exist? What is behind the forces the Sector has within it? What caused the Sectors to be created? And what is causing their growth?”

“Always thinking, Faust,” Orian said. “And I’m not about to stop you from your inquiries. Knowledge is power, that’s what Cisily says. And you were chosen by the Sector. Marked like one of the children and that makes you different than the ones who were changed against their will.”

“What does he mean?” Eva asked.

When Faust could find no reply Orian chuckled. “Please tell me she knows.”

“Well…”

Orian shook his head. “Actually it implies more common sense than I would warrant you, Faust. After all, she is RI, no matter how well you know each other.” He eyed Eva up and down. “However, it hardly matter now. Faust is a changeling. Going on about five years now.”

Eva stared at Faust. A war of emotions on her face; anger, fear and even pity. “Is it true?”

Faust shrugged, unable to think under the assault of her changing opinion of him, not that her opinion had been that great to begin with. “Don’t look at me like I’m sick or tainted, Eva. I’m perfectly fine.”

“I didn’t…”

He let the energy of the barrier flow through him, feeling his body respond. She jerked back in alarm as the energy crawled through his flesh revealing the marked eyes. “I know what you think. You can’t hide that reaction, darling.”

“Which is exactly my point,” Orian said.

“What?” Faust asked.

“She is prejudiced. Whatever information you are after will be used poorly in the wrong hands. And her views of the changed could cause her to use that information in a harmful fashion, whether she knew it or not. If they are not trying to kill us they are trying to cure us.”

“Quite a bit more successful at the killing part,” Aneese added.

“You cannot work with the government to gain the answers you desire, Faust. Our aims simply are not compatible,” Orian said. “We wish to preserve what we have. To live freely. They want to destroy the Sectors and every trace it has left.”

“And what about having an RI agent sympathetic to us?” Faust asked, beginning to worry at Orian’s intentions.

“She would never be rid of her prejudices. And that sort of sympathy we don’t need.”

“Just what are you suggesting here? She is innocent of anything.”

Orian nodded and at that signal Eva was taken by the arms by Aneese and Roiger. Eva’s eyes widened in fear as she struggled to free herself.

“Just wait a minute,” Faust said, but could not think of an argument. “Portelus,” he said. The world froze around him and he took a couple rapid steps to Eva’s side. As the world tugged him back into its time flow he pulled Eva away, her captors surprised enough to have their grips relaxed. What he had not noticed, in his fear for her safety, was that Roiger has moved his hand to her belt. As he pulled Eva away, Roiger unclipped the belt. Faust held his arms around Eva protectively and stared at the belt in Roiger’s hands. “Fricken goddamn it all.”

He felt a sharp tremble of rage that took all his willpower to suppress. His volatile nature was extremely dangerous in an environment that responded to keenly to him.

Eva whimpered and her body went slack in his. He held her up and against his chest.

“No, no, no,” she whispered.

“Oh damn,” Faust said. He released his grip slightly and she sank to her knees. He could sense the Sector energy seeping into her skin already. “Eva, listen to me. Blank your mind of all fears and desires.”

“Faust you know this is the only way. If we find enemies it is best to turn them so they either except it or they are hunted down by their own,” Orian said. “She would be dead if not for your friendship.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Faust snarled. “Eva, please relax. Don’t think about it.” He gripped her shoulders, begging her not to be consumed by her fears. His intuition was that the Sector energy responded to the mind of the person and was influenced by their fears and desires. It changed them as it responded to those thoughts. And in that change made them a part of that dark energy, open and grounded to it.

“Don’t touch me!” Eva screamed, scrambling away from everyone.

When the first spasm jolted her body he knew the transformation was going to be violent. Her whole body arched up and she let out a hiss of pain.

“We need to put her in a containment room until we know which way she goes,” Aneese said.

Faust groaned and closed his eyes. There was nothing to be done now. “Right.”

Faust watched helplessly as they dragged Eva away, to one of the secure back rooms. Sometimes skin-shifters were consumed with powerful changes, where they had no conscious thoughts separate from their animal natures. Vampires and the Oni could be equally unpredictable.

“Damn you, Orian,” Faust said, sinking into a chair. He could hear Eva’s terrified screams, muffled behind the door. “Damn you all to hell.”

Orian sat across from him. Aneese went behind the bar and picked up a bottle of rum and four glasses. She put the glasses down and filled each glass. Handing one to Roiger and taking one for herself. “It is the only way,” Aneese said, with some sympathy. “I understand how traumatic it is, trust me, it happened to me as well. So sudden and so consuming. She will get used to it, we all do.”

He ran a hand through his hair. There was a cold rage stirring him. They did not want to make an enemy of him. “Show a little fucking trust once and a while. We could use some fricken human allies you know. Eva will hate you all for it and me and even herself,” Faust said, his voice and flat, with not the energy to express his anger. It was there though, that cold anger, filling him with heavy dark energy. Enough that he could feel the warp in the dark energy around him, drawing closer to him, eager to respond to his whim.

Aneese’s eyes flared red, sensing the aggressiveness of his energy. Not that the woman would be able to do anything about it. She was a force to be reckoned with, but Faust had a connection to the dark energy Aneese only felt intuitively.

“She will understand the truth and this is only way to the truth in those manipulated for decades with government propaganda,” Orian said calmly. He was also aware of the energy bulking around Faust as the man’s eyes glowed a deep amber.

“She won’t value how you taught it to her. You did not need to bring her here. Or if you did you could have shown her what these people are like, not what she thinks of them.”

“Too slow, and too unsure of the result,” Orian said, ever pragmatic, frightfully so.

“You would not have done this if I was not with her.”

“No,” he agreed. “Two researchers are no threat. But when one of them is you, with your knowledge, it is different. And if you did not know her, what she does know would have been a death sentence.”

Faust stared at his glass a moment, thinking about how horrible a change this would be for her. He sipped his drink.

“Things are getting worse. You know that. They hunt the pure born more and more,” Orian said.

Faust jerked away from his thoughts and focused on Orian.

“What do you mean?”

“They know there is something different, profoundly different about the purely changed children. They want to know what it is.”

Rage coiled through Faust. “How many?”

“Can’t rightly say. Seven so far.”

“The little ones?”

“Are safe here. So far. There was a purely changed living close to the Sector, who is the eldest of them. Eighteen I believe. She was taken. And that was farther than the hunters usually come.”

“We are going to have to do something about that.”

“You don’t think we have tried? We don’t know where they are kept, which means they have some way to shield them from us. They have the skill and the power out there.”

Hours later, when he had more than one drink, Cisily came up to them. As usual, unlike her husband she was calm and composed. Her lush gray hair and swirling gray eyes the only markings of being a mara. Other than that she was all woman, with lush curves a man could spend hours exploring. As a mara though, she had a great deal of power, but fortunately a hesitancy to use the full force of her abilities. She could enter the dreaming mind of anyone and torment them with their worst nightmares until they were driven mad by it.

“Well?” Faust asked, fearing the answer.

“It looks like skin-shifter, it is trying to manifest as the energy changes her essence to allow for it.”

Faust winced. He had seen the first change of a skin-shifter before. He had seen the outline of jaws and teeth pushing out of the skin on his back, as though an animal were trying to tear its way out of him. “She thinks my wife and child were killed by such a person. It was likely her greatest fear.”

“What type we looking at?” Roiger asked. Wolf-skins tended to pack orientated and there were several in the village, and less of any other sort. They would help Eva deal with the changes and integrate her into the pack. As far as Faust had been able to figure the pack orientated skins developed a magical bond linking them to the others and their alpha. As fascinating as that was he doubted Eva would turn into anything that would be dependant on others.

“Looks like cat, perhaps tiger,” Cisily replied.

“Do we even have tiger-skins in the village?” Orian asked.

“No. A group of panthers are in this territory,” Roiger said. “Still they don’t seem to pack well. Helping a new recruit will not be a problem for them, I’m sure.”

And Faust was accused of being a social idiot. They seemed to be ignoring the fact that while they forced the Change on Eva she would never be their willing ally after.

“Then get one. This one will need a lot,” Orian said.

One thing was for certain, Eva did not pack well. Nor would she be willing to play such games from those that forced the change on her. Faust doubted he would be able to convince her to stay in the safe haven of the town when she would see them as enemies, without understanding the border rim was wild territory with a great deal more threats.

“Faust you’re going to have to talk to her. The girl is terrified,” Cisily said.

“I need no help from you, mara,” he said flatly.

“I am the Mara, Faust.”

He raised a mocking brow. He hardly needed a reminder of her rank. He was not a citizen of their town and he certainly did not need to play by their rules.

“And you have destroyed her life. No need to give her nightmares when you have caused her worst fear in reality. She will be unstable for months. She can’t return to her work, to her life. Her work meant something to her and you have taken that on a whim.”

“None of us have sacrificed anything else. And none of us had a choice when we were changed. Except perhaps you, Faust. Who managed to change like the children do,” Cisily said. “You are close to her?”

“Fuck,” he muttered rubbing his head. “She was my friend. No longer likely.”

“I’m sorry for it, Faust. Truly I am. She needs you as a friend and ally now, in order to accept this.”

“I will go see her when I think it is complete,” Faust said. He glared at each of them Aneese and Roiger flinched. As they should. They thought they were the big bads of the Sector. They were not. He chocked down the surge of power that roared into him. He did not want their deaths, or at least not completely, yet the dark energy responded to what he truly wanted. What he wanted to do was violence or to scream out his rage. As if in response thunder cracked and rumbled and then hail beat against the house. He took a deep breath. “I will not forget this breach of trust. Consider very carefully the consequences of this thoughtless act. You do not want me as an enemy.”

“It is not about you, Faust,” Orian said.

“Orian, you attack my friends and it is an attack on me. Remember that.”

“Are we enemies then?” Orian asked. He asked it calmly, but Faust knew he was worried. They did not know truly what he was capable of being purely changed. Faust did not completely know himself except that sometimes it was so very hard to control.

“Not yet. You do good by the Changed I send you. You protect them. That means you are of use to me. If you were not, then we would be enemies. Although I am reconsidering our alliance. I am reconsidering the assistance I provide you.”