Jaycee's Blog - Fri, July 20

Guess who showed up for a surprise visit?

Brooke.

It was only half a surprise visit, of course. He first showed up at my (his) old apartment, only to discover I didn't live there anymore. The people who live there had my new address, which they provided him with. They also called me to let me know about him. When he showed up, I was wearing my bodysuit (which I'm now calling my chameleon suit) and displaying my former female Brooke appearance. (Side note: he knows I've reverted to his male appearance.) He frowned in slight confusion until I explained what the suit was. (If you've missed the explanation, it's all in my last blog entry.)

As a surprise to me, he didn't come alone: Fantasia, Naughtybelle and Grief all showed up with him. It's odd to think of them as friends—they weren't exactly nice to me back in Quebec City—but there's an undeniable bond between us. Maybe moreso now that I know what a truly evil faerie can do to someone. (I still have occasional erotic nightmares about what I went through before Tarantina was bound to me.)

Brooke remarked that we no longer had an intense physical attraction to one another when in proximity of each other. The faeries shrugged, explaining that "that faded a good while back" (as faerie magic tends to do over time). "Items last longer," they explained, "but magic cast on organic stuff fades fairly quickly unless it's cast repeatedly."

"So that suit of yours is pretty nifty," Brooke said. "Any chance you have a spare?"

I said I could get Tarantina to make another one for him, but Fantasia objected, saying it would be a bad idea.

"Bonding with a faerie is for life," she explained, "but a bond with a dark fae is limited. When we share our name, it's because we want that relationship. It's based on affection. Dark fae are made of pure hatred. They don't share their names and they fight the bond. Every time they cast magic for you, it weakens the bond until the day it's too weak to protect the human from her wrath."

I swallowed hard. "So you're saying at some point, she'll kill me anyway?"

"Oh yeah," Naughtybelle said. "And it won't be pretty."

"And you're all telling me this NOW?"

Grief stepped in, making a dismissive gesture. "Oh, that's probably a good decade away." She paused and thought about it for a second. "Then again, if you have her do magic for you at the rate you're going, maybe it's just a few years away..."

You probably won't know what I mean, but it felt like I was diagnosed with some rare fatal disease. Tarantina listened silently as the faeries explained it. When I looked at her, she just floated there, arms crossed, smiling wickedly. She looked back at me and licked her lips, no doubt imagining the agony she'd put me under before killing me.

So maybe my plan to take on the Coterie was a bad one. Maybe the best strategy to ensure a long and happy life is to not have Tarantina cast magic on my behalf unless it's absolutely necessary.

And maybe I need to approach this problem from a completely different angle. I'll have to think about this. I don't want to say too much, but maybe there's another way to go to save myself.

Anyway, I'll try to put that out of my mind. We have a fun weekend planned and I don't want to spoil it too much.

--Jaycee