The music from the speakers overhead shifted from a soft, ambient piano track, to something halfway between techno and dubstep. The man lifted his arms up into the air and began shaking his hands back in forth.
Rose had pulled away from Malcolm as soon as the lights had gone out. He swore under his breath, realizing that the man holding the attention of the room was, in all likelihood, Golden Joab.
Golden Joab spun around in a circle, bobbing his head forward and back to the rhythm of the music. He shook his shoulders up and down, doing a ridiculous looking dance and occasionally gesturing to the audience members closest to him.
“Behold!” he shouted. “Magic… of the likes you’ve never seen before!”
He ripped his shirt further open and stomped a foot down on the ground. Smoke began to rise from the floor. Golden Joab sank down into it, waving his hands in front of his eyes and head theatrically.
The smoke thickened for a moment, and then began to clear. Golden Joab was gone. Malcolm frowned, unsure of whether to be impressed or not. He tried to spot Tapestry in the crowd, but the dim lighting made it into an impossible task.
“Disappear!” shouted Golden Joab’s voice. “And… reappear!”
The spotlight bobbed up to the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Golden Joab stood atop it, his chest puffed out and his hands on his waist. He grinned and blew a kiss down to the ground, almost losing his balance in the process.
“I will show you the true meaning of the word… magic!” he shouted over the music. The tempo of the beat began to build, and Golden Joab began swaying back forth, the chandelier groaning under his weight.
The chain connecting it to the ceiling gave a high-pitched whine as it fell. It hit the floor hard, glass from the fake fire bulbs on its tips shattering and spraying a few nearby women with glass. One of them cried out and dabbed at a small, bloody scratch on her cheek.
“Magic!” Golden Joab’s voice came from the ballroom’s entrance this time. “I am unharmed… through the power of magic.”
The spotlight panned over to him. He slowly lifted his hands into the air, wiggling his fingers and staring out into the crowd. A hesitant, awkward applause broke out. Joab started laughing and pointing at people with finger guns.
“Come check out my show tomorrow night!” he said. “It’s certainly more interesting than this little shindig. Too bad about the chandelier.”
Malcolm saw a figure move in the shadows behind Golden Joab.
Rose!
He pushed through a group of people ahead of him, trying to get to the magician before Rose did. He stopped in mid step when he realized that the man was already gone. It was as though he’d vanished into thin air.
On first examination, Golden Joab had not looked like either a spryte or a demon. Malcolm knew that it was possible that the man could be gifted, and only avoiding the overtures of the Champion Authority out of a need for independence or a disapproval of their methods. It seemed unlikely, but so did the other possibility.
He could just be good at magic. No superpowers involved…
Malcolm did a quick scan of the ballroom, just to make sure. There was a back exit, and sure enough, a shadowed figure was hurrying out through it. The lights slowly came back on, and Malcolm saw another woman he recognized hurrying toward the back exit with her skirt hiked up for mobility.
That’s Fantasy, illusion spryte and seductress supreme.
He moved to the side of the ballroom before calling the wind and using it to speed his steps toward the back exit. Fantasy made it through a few seconds before he did. Malcolm charged through the door, and ran right into her.
“Ow!” she cried, as they both tumbled to the ground.
“What’s the hurry?” asked Malcolm, pulling himself to his feet. “You wouldn’t have somewhere to be, would you?”
Fantasy was blonde bombshell, though Malcolm suspected it was a result of her powers, rather than natural looks. Her hair was reminiscent of a mythical princess, worked into a long braid that fell all the way down to her waist.
She appeared to have, large, full breasts, and a butt that was eye catching even in the fluffy, frilly dress she had on. She stared at Malcolm for a moment, her eyes perking up as she recognized him.
“Wind Runner…” she said, bringing a hand to her mouth. “Oh, my. Rose will be thrilled to know that you’re here… even if it makes for an obstacle to our task.”
She extended her hand as though to shake Malcolm’s. He shook his head slowly, confused by how casually she was greeting him.
“Uh… Aren’t we supposed to fight now?” he asked. “Isn’t that usually how this goes?”
Fantasy smiled. She had a small mole just underneath one of her eyes, and it brought out the smooth lines of her cheek bones.
“A fight! How dazzling would that be?” She let out a high pitched, exaggerated laugh. “Well then, let’s have it.”
She turned around and ran off. Malcolm hesitated only for a moment before giving pursuit. She continued down the hallway they were in and through another door. Malcolm followed her, finding that it led to another, currently unused ballroom.
The door slammed shut behind him. Malcolm whirled around and saw Fantasy standing in front of it, working the locking mechanism.
“What do you expect that to do?” he asked.
“Keep you in here,” she said. “Or should I say… in here?”
She waved her hand in his direction. The ballroom was gone in an instant, and Malcolm’s jaw dropped at what he saw in its place.
CHAPTER 20
Malcolm was outside, or at least appeared to be. The sun was shining overhead, and he was surrounded by a forest, not of trees, but of flowers. The colors were dazzling, but Malcolm forced his attention away from them and back onto his opponent.
She could be anywhere. It’s up to her if she shows herself.
An insect whizzed by Malcolm’s face. It glowed blue, and on closer inspection, it wasn’t an insect at all, but a tiny, naked faerie. There were dozens of them, spanning the spectrum of a rainbow, twisting and twirling, and distracting him from what he needed to be doing.
“This won’t work, Fantasy!” shouted Malcolm. “I’m not just going to fall for a, well, uh… a fantasy.”
Malcolm slowly began walking forward. He could hear music, and after a few more steps, he spotted a small, green haired elf girl playing a flute and dancing around the grass. There was a tall woman dressed in chainmail standing nearby, too, massaging the hilt of her sword provocatively.
“Greetings, traveler,” said the tall woman. “Have ye seen sign of the nefarious black dragon?”
Malcolm tapped a finger against his cheek, considering her.
“No,” he said. “I don’t mean this as an insult, but Fantasy would have made herself more attractive in her own illusionary world.”
The tall woman looked offended.
“Draw steel, fiend!” she shouted. “I will not stand idle by your insults!”
The elf girl’s flute tune took on a dramatic quality. Malcolm stepped past both of the illusions, moving forward swiftly, but also keeping in mind that he was still in the empty ballroom.
Don’t want to run too fast. It would be very easy to accidentally slam into a wall.
“Fantasy, come on,” said Malcolm. “Show yourself. Let’s settle this like adults.”
“And how, exactly, would adults settle this?”
Fantasy cartwheeled into view, completely naked, with regular sized flowers woven into her long, blonde braid. Malcolm blinked, unable to keep himself from staring at her. She had quite the body, and seemed eager to have him see it unclothed.
“We… should talk it out,” said Malcolm. “You can’t recruit Golden Joab over to Rain Dancer’s faction. My partner and I won’t allow it.”
Fantasy laughed.
“You’re so boring, Wind Runner,” she said. “I know that’s not what you really want to talk about.”
She drew in closer to him,
covering her breasts with one arm for a second, and then letting it fall away. Her nipples were large and proportional, and far too easy to stare at.
“So, what?” said Malcolm. “You think you can seduce me?”
“I know I can seduce you,” said Fantasy. “It’s one of the easiest things for me to do with my powers.”
Malcolm saw movement out of the corner of his eye and flinched back. The tall, female knight from before had discarded most of her clothing, leaving only the chainmail vest over her chest. She was lying on the grass, her legs spread apart, using the hilt of her sword to pleasure herself.
Fantasy took advantage of the moment, sliding to press her body against Malcolm’s. He made a halfhearted attempt to push her back instead, stepping loose of her warm, soft embrace.
“I have a healthy appetite for men,” whispered Fantasy. “I used to be afraid of them, once upon a time. But now… I just can’t get enough. And I’d love to have you, Wind Runner.”
Malcolm glanced around. The knight woman was now letting out slow, seductive moans. The elf girl who’d been playing her flute was now a fully grown, elf woman, wearing thin shreds of leaf clothing and slowly dancing through the flowers with sensual movements.
“Let me out of this illusion, and then we’ll talk,” said Malcolm.
Fantasy laughed. She made as though to step toward him, before tripping in an exaggerated style and landing on her knees in front of him.
“Oh, how clumsy of me!” she cried. “Well… since I’m down here anyway…”
Her hands ran over Malcolm’s zipper. He was excited, though he didn’t want to be. He frowned down at her and pulled out of her reach.
“What’s… wrong with you?” asked Malcolm. “And why did you join up with Rain Dancer, anyway? You seemed more mild mannered when I first met you.”
Fantasy stood up and met his gaze, looking very amused and very naked.
“I’m not interested in being a loser, and anyone with eyes can see the way the tide is turning,” she said. “You champions were never able to control me, but other sprytes and demons, working together… perhaps they could. I don’t want to find out.”
“You don’t seem like the type to be easily controlled,” said Malcolm.
Fantasy smiled.
“I’m not,” she said. “At least, not anymore. But I was… I remember that much about the time before I got my powers.”
I guess stalling her is the next best thing to beating her, right?
“Tell me about it,” said Malcolm.
Fantasy blinked a couple of times. She was beautiful enough to make it easy to forget that she was the enemy. She turned around, and Malcolm admired the way her long, blonde braid stopped right at the outward curve of her buttocks.
“I was a result of emotionally fucked up girl bingo,” said Fantasy. “Rape. Abuse. Codependent. You name it, I was it. Just a pretty face, controlled and used by men.”
She was smiling when she spun around to look at him again, and it was genuine.
“Now…” she said. “With my abilities… I’m the one in control. Always.”
“So… I don’t really like the sound of that,” said Malcolm. “Maybe we should cut the illusion off here?”
Malcolm tried to step away from Fantasy. She waved a hand, and a half dozen of the tiny faeries floating through the air became full size, each of them turning into a beautiful, naked, winged woman.
“Blame Rose, not me,” said Fantasy, pressing into him. “She wouldn’t tell me about what you were like in bed. I knew right then and there… that I’d have to find out for myself.”
Fantasy undid the button and zipper of Malcolm’s dress pants. He tried to pull away from her again, but the tree flowers were penning them in. The naked faeries were dancing for him, and Fantasy’s hand slowly stroked up and down his hard girth.
“There we go…” whispered Fantasy. “Just lie down and let the sweet fantasy play out before your eyes.”
“You can’t fool me that easily,” said Malcolm. He grabbed onto Fantasy’s arm and gave it a squeeze.
A dragon was suddenly standing over both of them, thrusting its car sized head within fire breathing range of Malcolm’s face.
“Just lie down…” said the dragon. “And let the fantasy play out.”
Malcolm trembled. Knowing that it wasn’t real and believing that it wasn’t real were two different things. He couldn’t align his emotions with the fact that he knew that his senses were being fooled. Malcolm wasn’t sure when exactly he decided to lie down and play along, but the next thing he knew, Fantasy was straddling him, slowly lowering herself down onto his hard tool.
“See?” asked Fantasy. “Doesn’t that feel good?”
She dropped a little lower, impaling herself on Malcolm’s shaft. She felt hot and wet and soft, but he would never admit that to her.
“Yeah, I’m not sure this is working for me,” he said, rolling his eyes.
Fantasy grinned at him. She waved a hand through the air.
They were in a classroom, still engaged in coitus, but with a totally different theme. Malcolm was lying on top of the teacher’s desk. Fantasy was the blonde bombshell of a teacher, wearing a white blouse and a tight, black skirt as she rode him.
“Oh, young man!” moaned Fantasy. “You’ve gotten such good grades in my class! I hope this serves as a good reward…”
Malcolm let out a tiny moan. His hands slid across Fantasy’s buttocks, and he gave one of them a gentle grope. He was starting to enjoy it, even though he didn’t want to.
This brings a whole new dimension to the concept of role playing.
“I saw you staring at me in class,” said Fantasy, as she bounced up and down on his shaft. “All of the boys were… but especially you.”
Malcolm didn’t say anything. Fantasy pulled his hands up to her breasts, and he almost gasped when he felt how big and soft they were. He knew that there was at least one part of her body that was still impressive under the illusion.
Fantasy waved her hand again, and they were in the back of a police cruiser. Fantasy wore a police uniform, and Malcolm had an orange jumpsuit, unzipped down the middle.
“You have the right… to remain… silent,” moaned Fantasy. “Anything you say… or do… Oh…!”
The scene shifted again. They were in a strip club, and Malcolm was in the middle of getting a lap dance that had gone too far. This time, he couldn’t resist. He took Fantasy by the hips and began adding his strength to her movements, pulling her down on his shaft with raw, sexual aggression.
“Oh!” cried Fantasy. “Yes!”
Malcolm kissed one of her breasts, feeling its softness press against his face and cheek. Fantasy bounced faster and faster, both of them falling deep into the heat of the moment. He let out a groan as he reached his limit and unloaded. The pleasure hit him in a wave, followed by the question of how he’d gotten himself into the situation, and how the hell he was going to get himself out of it.
CHAPTER 21
Fantasy let her illusions drop as soon as they were finished. They were in the middle of the empty ballroom. The lighting was dim, and the air was a little musky. Malcolm carefully lifted her off him and set her aside. As he did it, he felt a familiar tingling sensation run up his hand.
I just absorbed her powers. That might come in handy.
Malcolm made sure he was decent and immediately started putting distance between himself and the spryte. Fantasy was lying on the ground, apparently contented by her after glow. She smiled at him and stood to her feet.
“I guess now I should probably kill you,” she said. “It’s a shame. Rose is clearly obsessed with you, and I can see why. She won’t be happy with me.”
“Hold on,” said Malcolm. He could hear something in the hallway outside, the sound of a scuffle.
“Sorry, but we’re past the point of you being able to buy yourself more time,” said Fantasy. “It’s been fun, Wind Runner, but now–”
The entrance doo
rs slammed open, and Tapestry and Rose fell through it, the two of them engaged in a fierce fight. Tapestry had a hold on Rose’s arm, and was trying to wrestle her to the floor while dodging her shadow tendrils. Rose was twisting, kicking, and elbowing in an attempt to break free. They rolled together across the floor as a single unit. Malcolm hesitated.
Golden Joab is nowhere to be seen. There’s no reason for this fight to be taking place.
Calling the wind, he slammed down into both of the brawling women, disentangling them from each other. Rose was on her feet first, but Malcolm dropped down next to Tapestry, standing over her protectively. He frowned at Rose and gave his head a small shake.
“Enough,” he said. “The fight is over. Neither of us is going to get what we want.”
“Wind Runner!” snapped Tapestry. “We can take them!”
“And in the process of doing so, we’ll be waiting around for Hawktail security guards to show up and take control of the situation,” he said. “Now is not the time.”
“I don’t know…” said Fantasy. She looked at Rose and furrowed her brow. “Letting them go would be foolish.”
Rose was still clad in Fantasy’s illusion, her skin and eyes appearing like a regular human’s. Malcolm silently thanked Fantasy for that. Tapestry had seen Rose once before, in his apartment, and if she recognized her as the same spryte now, she would have another dot to connect to the rest of her suspicions about him.
“Golden Joab might still be nearby,” said Rose. “Our time would be better spent looking for him, rather than fighting with these two.”
She winked at Malcolm subtly, and he breathed a sigh of relief. If she’d felt like it, she could have brought up how she knew him, and easily turned Tapestry against him for good. Malcolm wasn’t sure why she hadn’t, and as thankful as he was, he couldn’t help but wonder about her motivations.
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