The Fantasy Trove

“Oh!” Jessica gasped, inches away from her face. “You’re alive! I was… I—” Fresh tears joined others already streaming down her cheeks as she hugged Shelly close to her.

“So the bitch is unlucky enough not to die first,” the Grand Meister’s cold voice sounded nearby. “Your father will have the pleasure of watching you die, then. He’s almost here.”

Shelly looked into Jessica’s eyes and saw fear reflected back at her. “How long was I out?” she asked. They were still on the landing next to a long hallway where she’d been shot. With careful fingers, she touched the spot where the bullet had struck. Her shirt was soaked in blood, but there wasn’t as much pain as she thought there should be. At least she could breathe if she kept her breaths short.

“Only a couple minutes,” Becky said next to her. Shelly noticed a large bruise on her left cheek and a cut along her chin still seeping blood. “I’ve seen people get shot there before. You couldn’t have healed yourself with magic dampened like it is. How…?”

Shelly tried to sit up, but was too weak. It didn’t help that Jessica was still hugging her. It took her a moment to pull away from her girlfriend enough to let her sit up. “Shemhazau says hi,” Shelly said to Becky. She almost chuckled at the confused look the older woman gave her, but her stomach still hurt too much. She was healed enough, but not back to one-hundred percent.

“I’m so glad you could join us, Betrayer!” the Grand Meister’s voice boomed, stopping Shelly from saying anything more.

She looked up and saw a group of worn and tired people enter their hallway. She recognized her brother right away since he still had that golden glow, but didn’t see her father.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Mihale Maztaim, but my husband isn’t here,” Brooke’s clear voice rang out from the group.

“That’s Grand Meister to you, Betrayer’s Bitch!” he snarled. Shelly could see that he was fuming to be denied his grand show. “If he doesn’t have the balls to come himself, then he’ll have to know there was nothing he could do to stop their deaths!” he turned to his men and gave one final order before walking away. “Kill them.”

Shelly gripped Jessica’s hand and commanded, “Wield me!” She wasn’t sure if it would work, but it was her only hope. She recalled what Marchosias’s sword looked like with its gray blade, and pearl set into the hilt. She felt the change come over her, and wanted to cry out in relief.

“It worked!” Shemhazau’s voice rebounded in her mind, echoing her own thoughts.

“Who was that?!” Jessica almost dropped her in shock, but recovered in time to slash across the chest of the nearest Knight.

Strength flooded into her. Any weakness that she’d felt fled as the soldier fell back, screaming and clutching at his chest.

“Oh, that felt good!” Jessica moaned. “That was almost as good as… as… wow….”

Before Shelly could gather her thoughts, Jessica was on another Knight, moving faster than any normal eye could follow. With each strike, power infused her and she felt closer to her girlfriend. As each Knight fell, Jessica became stronger, faster, and hornier. Shelly lost track of how many men fell, lost in a euphoric state. The two women became one. She was aware of every sensation her wielder felt, and knew that Jessica felt every keen slice; knew that her girlfriend could feel the air slide across her skin before slicing into another soft body. Their armor was nothing compared to her keen edge. Their lust for more grew with each strike.

“Jessica, stop!” Sheldon’s voice cracked through the air and Shelly came back to herself.

The tip of her dull blade was pointed at her brother’s throat. His hands were held up in a gesture of surrender. She changed back into her human form, landing lightly on her feet. She still felt like she could leap a mile or run a mega-marathon at top speed, but she also wanted to vomit. Her legs were covered in blood and gore. Even as she let go of Jessica’s hand, they were still connected mentally for a moment. She understood why Jessica dropped to her knees, moaning and rubbing her crotch as sexual heat overtook her. It took all of her self-control not to drop down next to her and join in. She needed to get off with a desperation she’d never known before, but was able to temper it with the knowledge that now wasn’t the time.

“What was that?” Shlee asked with a gleam in her eyes. “And where can I get some?”

Shelly wanted to glare at the woman, but she could feel her own fluids dripping down her legs.

“Are you okay?” Sheldon asked as he gripped her shoulder. His touch ignited a fire that raced through her, and she jerked away before she could embarrass herself. That contact sent an unwelcome desire through her. Her body cried out for release, and she almost didn’t care who she got it from. Her brother was an attractive man, but he was related to her. Maybe she should go help Jessica get off?

Except now wasn’t the time.

“She’s discovered something new,” Gloria came to her rescue, “and is trying to come to terms with it. We should see to Becky right now.”

“But—” Sheldon tried to protest, but his girlfriend pulled him away.

Shelly bit her tongue to remain silent. A part of her wanted to call him back to feel his touch again. She shuddered in disgust and desire at the thought. What was wrong with her?

A woman she hadn’t seen in person in some time approached. “You look a little unsteady on your feet.” Four hands gripped her to steady her. It was too much. Those four hands ignited a bonfire in her. Losing control, Shelly pressed Mandy to the wall and kissed her. She groaned in frustration that those four hands weren’t roaming her body, bringing bliss to every inch they touched. It took her a moment to realize the other woman wasn’t responding to her kiss, and she pulled away. Her face and body burned with embarrassment and unquenched need. “Here, have a drink of this. It’s just water, but you look like you could use some.” One of Mandy’s four hands handed her a canteen. There was no derision or teasing in the other woman’s voice, but she still felt ashamed.

Instead of drinking the water, she poured some of it over her head. It wasn’t cold, but it helped cool her off a bit.

“My pheromone production levels are completely turned off,” a woman Shelly didn’t recognize said, but she knew that voice. “This isn’t my doing.”

“Get away from her,” Shelly screamed. “She’s a spy working for the Knights!” No one moved or listened to her. “I’m serious,” she shrieked at them, trying to back away from the unknown woman. “She’s sending them intel. We saw a video feed she’s sending the Knights of everyone making plans in the Orange Bubble. Tell them, Jessica!” She turned to her girlfriend, but she was too busy with her hand down her pants and one perfect nipple rolling between her fingers as she got herself off. That tasty nipple called to her. It didn’t help that she knew Jessica would welcome her touch, but there were more important matters to attend to.

“It’s true,” Becky said, coming to her aid. “There was a camera set up somehow to watch you—even in the car—and then she spoke. Who is she?”

Shelly had to struggle not to get angry when everyone listened to Becky after ignoring her. They backed away from the woman as she gave them annoyed glares.

“I’m not a spy,” she said with authority. “Not for the Paladonic Knights, anyway.”

“How do you explain what we saw?” Shelly demanded. She saw Mandy standing close by, so knew the woman couldn’t lie, but it didn’t make sense.

“Maybe Sonia was hacked?” Shlee offered.

Hacked? She didn’t know what that was supposed to mean.

“Impossible,” Sonia stated in that same tone. “I’m worth more than the GDP of most countries. I can’t be hacked. My neural network requires triple layer authentication, and is encrypted with three of the latest algorithms. My authentication subroutines change every three seconds. Even I’m not capable of hacking my own programing, and I’m the most sophisticated piece of machinery the US Government owns. There are only two computers that can change my programming, and one of them sits in the President’s Oval Office. The other one is at a location whose security clearance is higher than anyone possesses within five hundred miles of here.”

“You’re not human,” Becky connected the dots before Shelly could.

If she wasn’t human, did that mean that Mandy’s ability to force everyone to tell the complete truth didn’t work on her?

“Um, Sonia?” Shlee asked as she approached the woman. “I know you have the ability to use pheromones to turn people on, but can you do anything to stop her from doing that?” She pointed to where Jessica was about to get herself off for the third or fourth time. She was on her shoulder blades and feet, hips raised in the air and three fingers of her right hand buried in her quim. Her left hand was furiously rubbing her clit, and her shirt was pulled up to her neck, revealing her prefect breasts jiggling on her chest as she shook to another orgasm.

“What?” Shelly demanded when they were a few paces away.

“I don’t think Sonia has been hacked—” Shlee began, but Shelly stopped her.

“I know what I saw.”

“I believe you, but I believe her also. Wait, let me explain,” she waved away Shelly’s protest, but kept her voice low. “I believe her when she says she can’t be hacked, but that doesn’t mean something at the other end can’t be. We already knew she was sending signals back to the president, who’s watching this with earnest. Something went wrong though. The rockets weren’t supposed to strike until we were making our retreat. I think someone on the other end is screwing things up.”

“What makes you so sure it’s not her?” Shelly had to ask.

“Mainly?” Shlee grimaced as she asked the question. “Because if I were faced with hacking an unhackable android, or infiltrating the other end, it’s a no-brainer on what I’d do. It doesn’t make sense any other way. Also, she’s had numerous chances to betray us, but has gone to great lengths to get us safely to you.”

“Then why did you pull me out of earshot?” She wanted to believe her family and friends hadn’t been in the midst of a traitor, but she didn’t know or owe the woman anything either.

“So that whoever is on that other end transmitting her visual feed back to this base won’t know we’re onto him.”

Shelly cursed herself for not having thought of that as well. It was difficult to think with her hormones still rampaging. Would anyone notice if she rubbed herself just a little bit?

“Are you okay?” Shlee asked, concern thick in her voice. “You’re looking a little flushed.”

“No,” Shelly admitted, though she didn’t want to. With Mandy around, she couldn’t stop the words from pouring out of her. “I’m so horny right now, even my brother is looking good and that’s just wrong!”

“I understand why you kissed Mandy like that, then.” Shlee nodded to the four-armed walking polygraph. “And why Jessica was moaning so much.”

“Shit!” Shelly swore as she glanced to where Sonia was helping Jessica to her feet. Jessica was a bit disheveled, but her episode seemed to be past. “I’m going to have to tell her about that kiss. She’s going to be pissed.”

“I’m not so sure of that,” Shlee sniffed the air. “She’s pretty shaken up by what she was doing, and will probably understand.”

“I didn’t know you could read minds,” Shelly commented as they walked back to the rest of the group.

“I can’t, but I can smell all of your emotions.” Shlee grinned at her, and Shelly couldn’t call it anything but wolfish. “Sometimes it comes in handy. Everyone is pretty tense right now, but they’re all happy you’re alive as well. Even if that was the oddest rescue I’ve ever seen. I didn’t know Jessica could move that fast. I wonder how her body held up to the friction against the air, moving so fast. Even if her body withstood it, how did her clothes? Did she have some sort of magic shield around her, allowing her to ignore the laws of physics?”

Shelly walked away from the werewolf before she got a headache. She remembered that Shlee could be a bit of a geek sometimes. Of course, that only added to her credibility about her theory on Sonia.

“Where did Mihale go?” She asked as she examined the corpses still littering the floor. She noticed that Jessica refused to look at her. Had she noticed the kiss despite being otherwise occupied, or was her girlfriend ashamed of what had happened? She remembered how jealous Jessica could be, and didn’t look forward to having that conversation later. There were bigger problems to deal with at that moment, however.

“He ran off that way,” Sonia pointed down the hallway. “Your father wants to know where you got that sword shape from?”

Cold dread shivered down her spine at that question. It was almost enough to dampen the fire still burning in her loins. That was another conversation she wasn’t looking forward to. How was her dad going to react when he found out that he hadn’t killed his father, but had abandoned him after killing the Outsider?

“We need to get to him.” Shelly decided to ignore the question for now. “If we can take out their Grand Meister here and now, it’ll weaken the Knights.”

“We can’t kill him, though,” Becky piped in. Shelly wanted to argue, but Brooke backed up the other woman.

“After Lyden killed the last Grand Meister, it made him into a martyr. The Knights were weakened, but those that remained rallied and grew stronger. We need to take him alive and make him answer for his crimes.”

“Fine. Whatever.” Shelly knew she was being petulant, but her emotions were still riding that rollercoaster. “We need to hurry. He could be anywhere by now.”

Sonia stepped forward and Shelly backed up a step. Shlee may be right about her, but Shelly still didn’t trust the woman… or robot, or whatever she was. Shelly didn’t expect the response she got, though. Sonia closed her eyes.

“I overheard your conversation with Shlee, though I blanked out that audio before it was transmitted back to Washington. I’m only covering my eyes to avoid whoever it is from reading lips. If her theory is correct, then I don’t want anything too sensitive being sent back. Unfortunately, that means your father is also left in the dark for right now. Anyway, I have hacked into their internal network. Grand Meister Mihale Maztaim is headed for the roof of their training center. There is a helipad up there. I suspect he thinks he is getting away, but I have already rerouted his request and sent them to another building. Even so, there is a powerful windstorm building up there. I don’t know if a helicopter will be able to land if it gets any worse.” When Sonia finished speaking, she opened her eyes.

Shelly stared at her for a moment more, still afraid this was a trap. It was her brother that made the decision.

“What are we waiting for?” he demanded as he pointed his gun down the indicated hallway. Shelly wondered at the golden glow around him, and also wondered why he hadn’t changed forms. He rarely fought in his normal body. At least he was fully healed from his terrible injuries. “Let’s go kick some more ass!”

He charged down the hallway, almost everyone else in tow.

“I love the way he takes charge,” Shlee grinned and chased after.

“Umm,” Jessica muttered, but still wouldn’t look at Shelly.

“We’d better catch up to my brash brother,” Shelly said. On an impulse, she reached out and grabbed her girlfriend’s hand, trying to tug her along.

“Don’t touch me,” Jessica screamed and yanked her hand away.

Shelly stared at her in shock. Before she had a chance to respond, Jessica took off running after the others.

She knew… Jessica knew about the kiss and was pissed off at her. Shelly didn’t blame her, but her heart ached to be treated that way. She hadn’t meant to kiss the other woman. She didn’t have any feelings for Mandy. She’d lost control after… after… what had caused that overwhelming lust?

She realized she was standing alone in the middle of the Paladonic Knight’s territory. With a quick swipe across her tear-blurred vision, she took off running after the others.

*    *    *    *

It was a long run, but Shelly was surprised to find she wasn’t out of breath when she finally caught up after a climb of four flights of stairs. She no longer felt the burning lust either, thankfully. Jessica, Sheldon, Gloria, and Sonia were the only other ones not winded. Even Shlee and Brooke, two undeniably fit and healthy women, were a bit winded. But they looked better than the aging Mihale Maztaim.

The older man looked like a mountain as he glared at them, but hauling the weight of his frame plus his armor up all those stairs was an impressive feat. No matter what kind of physical shape you were in, no normal human could exert themselves to that degree and not show it. Even with his flowing white cape billowing in the wind behind him like some superman, he was still only human.

They stood on top of a roughened roof. A large white circle with a painted ‘H’ in the center was fifteen feet in front of them. Smoke from numerous fires billowed around them as the Paladonic Knight’s base burned from the rocket attack. The air was thick with the stench of burning wood and metal. She expected to hear screaming from the wounded, but she heard none of it. She realized that the Knights had known the attack was coming. If they still had a man on the inside of the government, why would he allow the attack to occur? Or had he instigated it early? Shlee had said that it wasn’t supposed to occur until they retreated.

Her thoughts were pulled to the massive man before them as he cursed.

“You fools! Your stupid president is finished after this! Attacking a human base without provocation. On US soil no less? Her political career is over!” Mihale laughed, but there was a maniacal edge to it as he glanced at the sky. He was still waiting for his ride.

“You kidnapped three people,” Sonia intoned. Her voice easily carried over the wind that picked up, blowing even more smoke across the rooftop. “After your attacks on President Louise, your group has been branded as a terrorist organization. As we speak, Congress is drafting up a declaration of war. It’s you that’s finished.”

“We took three invaders to our world!” Mihale turned his head and spat to the side. He glanced again at the sky, and Shelly suspected he was growing nervous. He didn’t realize yet that his ride wasn’t coming. With the way the wind was blowing, she suspected that even if Sonia hadn’t diverted his escape chopper, it couldn’t land anyway. “We are working to save our world. I refuse to follow any government that would bow to the evil in the Shadow World. President Louise is a demon-sympathizer that will doom our world!”

“What are you talking about?” Becky yelled at him. “I’m a human, you asshole! I was born and raised on Earth. I father was a steel worker in Chicago, and my mother bussed tables.” The wind was really beginning to pick up. Shelly had to tuck her filthy hair behind her ear to keep it from blowing into her face.

“You’re a foul-creature loving slut!” Mihale cried back. “You laid with the Betrayer. You no longer have a right to mix amongst true humanity.”

“I think he’s a little bit crazy,” Shlee muttered loud enough to be heard over the rising wind, but not by the man frantically searching the skies.

He gripped something on the side of his armor, and everyone tensed. He brought it to his mouth, started yelling into it, and Shelly realized it was a communications device.

“Where the hell is that chopper?”

“They’re not coming for you,” Shelly barely heard Sonia speaking over the wind. It was getting fierce out here. She had to start leaning into it to keep from getting blown over. Was Lysa out here somehow? She didn’t think it was possible for the Pillars to visit Earth, but she knew it was possible for them to affect things here. “I’ve directed them to abandon you. You would be honored with how fast they respected your decision to leave you behind. Perhaps not with the speed at which they did so, but they followed your orders without question.”

“What are you talking about?” Mihale asked as his face lost all color. He didn’t seem to be struggling with the wind, despite his large size and fluttering cape, his weight must keep him grounded.

Sonia opened her mouth to respond, but it was Mihale’s baritone voice that flowed from her. “Echo-two-four, this is Grand Meister Maztaim. I will stay and fight. You get out of here.” Sonia chuckled, her voice returning to normal. “A moment later, they called Mayday. This base is surrounded, Grand Meister. No one is getting out of here. You’ve lost!”

“Lost?” The man’s voice cracked as he took that in. “I don’t think so!” He reached behind him and pulled out an automatic machine gun.

Shelly leapt into action before thinking. She formed into a large shield, her metal surface rounded and gleaming in the firelight and smoke. The wind caught her before anyone else could, and she found herself tumbling through the air and over the edge. An updraft grabbed ahold of her, and she flipped through the air, rising higher. She didn’t have time to think. If she stayed in this form, she should survive falling, as long as she wasn’t dashed too hard against anything solid.

Then it hit her. She’d changed into something other than that sword! She didn’t know why she could change into her other forms again, but she wasn’t going to complain either! Well, she wouldn’t complain if she survived this mistake.

A sudden downdraft hurtled her to the ground, and her elation changed to one of fear. She was going too fast. Even if she were made of titanium, an impact at this speed would bend her up, if not destroy her. What irony that she would get her ability back right before she was dashed against the ground.

She caught glimpses of the ground as everything spun around her. The wind grew worse, almost as if it had a mind of its own, shoving her harder towards her impending doom.

She heard a scream from above. Had that been Jessica? Was she worried about her? She feared that Jessica wouldn’t forgive her for that kiss, but it hadn’t been her fault! Maybe it would be better to dash against the paved ground below. She saw what looked like a parking lot rushing to meet her.

She closed off her senses. It would be better not to see it coming. She waited for the impact, half expecting to see Shemhazau appear before her. Hadn’t he told her they could speak when she was near death?

She thought of her dad next. He’d never know that his father still lived. Shemhazau would truly die with her.

That ground is taking forever to get here, she thought. She didn’t really want to die, but she didn’t enjoy waiting either.

Slowly, she opened her sense of sight and noticed she was no longer hurtling towards the ground. In fact, she was rising back up to the roof despite the wind trying to shove her back down. Something had her in its claws. Had Sheldon shape-shifted to rescue her? She didn’t see that golden glow around her rescuer, but maybe it didn’t translate into his other forms? Or was that glow in her imagination? She couldn’t make out much through the smoke, so she couldn’t figure out what form he was in. Something with wings and claws, but that was all she could tell for certain.

As soon as she was dumped on the roof, she changed back to her normal form before the wind could carry her away again.

“I thought I’d lost you!” Jessica caught her up in a powerful embrace. Apparently she’d been forgiven for that kiss.

“Not your brightest move, Sis, but I’m glad you’re okay,” Sheldon added next.

“Thanks for catching me,” Shelly said past her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“Um… I didn’t,” he gave her a confused look.

If he hadn’t saved her, then who had? She focused on the others around her, and then remembered her reason for changing in the first place.

Mihale Maztaim was laying on the ground, with, of all things, a large blue dragon towering over him. Something thudded the ground behind her. She turned in Jessica’s arms to see a smaller dragon with prominent human breasts and brown scales step up to her. The new dragon shimmered and formed into the shape of a mostly human woman, except for her clawed feet, scales acting as skimpy clothes, and long curved horns protruding from her head.

“It’s been awhile, Sister,” the newcomer said. “Might I suggest you don’t do any more flying leaps when we’re trying to create a windstorm?”

“I didn’t know you’d be part of this operation,” Sheldon stepped up and embraced their half-sister.

“Are the rest of you here?” Shelly asked. She wanted to embrace her sister also, but Jessica didn’t show any signs of letting go. She could handle being held a little longer.

“My brothers and sisters are about, helping the humans clean up what’s left of the Knights. Mom saw that one pull a gun on you guys, and decided to step in. Hope you didn’t mind.”

“Who is that?” Jessica whispered into her ear.

Shelly couldn’t help but chuckle. In the last few minutes, she’d been on the craziest of emotional roller coasters, and it didn’t seem like it was going to stop anytime soon.

“This is my half-sister, Mei. Mei, this is my girlfriend, Jessica.” She made the introductions.

“Nice to meet you,” Mei held out one talon-tipped hand. “I always suspected Shelly had a bit of dyke in her!” Mei’s golden eyes grew large as she realized what she’d just said. Shelly’s cheeks burned as she turned and glared at Mandy. She knew it wasn’t the woman’s fault, but then again, it was. Why was she even here? Sure, she could fight, but—

“I wish you’d quit thinking about her,” Jessica told her. “It’s enough to make me jealous!”

Shelly pulled away then as she looked at her girlfriend. “How did you know I was thinking about Mandy?”

“I can read most minds,” she replied, then covered her mouth, her shock and horror growing in her eyes.

Shelly tried to keep her anger in check, but she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. After all the crap Jessica had given Gloria about invading privacy and reading minds, to find out that she could do it pissed her off. All this time, she’d thought she was safe in her own mind, but all her thoughts were open to the woman that professed to care about her.

“No, it’s not like that!” Jessica tried to protest. “I hadn’t wanted your brother to know, either. You weren’t supposed to find out! I do care about you.”

“My brother knew?” she demanded and spun to face him. She could feel herself losing control, but she couldn’t stop it. Too many emotions cramped into a short period of time. “Why didn’t you tell me, Sheldon?”

“I thought you knew!” he protested, holding up his hands to ward off her ire. “I didn’t know she was keeping it a secret from you.”

She knew he was telling the truth—had to be telling the truth! Despite that, she still felt betrayed. Looking around, she realized that Gloria had to have known as well. She’d stated that she couldn’t read Jessica’s mind, but she could have read Sheldon’s and known.

She saw pity in the eyes that looked back at her, except for Jessica’s. “This isn’t what I wanted,” she tried to tell Shelly. “I don’t understand why I’m saying all this, but I didn’t want things to happen this way.”

Shelly wanted to ask what it was she wanted to have happen, but her heart cried out for a different question.

“Was it all a lie? Did you ever really care about me?” She had to know. Then she remembered something Jessica had told her before. “Or were you just using me to get back with my brother? Was everything a ruse to get back with him? You told me you still cared about him. Why don’t you tell me what you really feel now?”

“No, no! It’s not like that. I… I—”

“Go on! If it’s true, you can say it,” she taunted, unable to keep a sneer off her lips or out of her tone.

“Now may not be the right time for this,” Mandy tried to interject. “I know how things can get blown out of proportion whenever I’m around. Maybe we should—”

“Shut up, Mandy!” Shelly cut her off. She knew the woman was trying to help, but she didn’t care. Why? Why couldn’t she have told me? I wouldn’t have cared. I’m used to dealing with people who can read minds. Why did she have to keep such a big secret? “Tell me,” she added out loud, knowing Jessica had heard her thoughts.

“I do care about you,” Jessica cried as tears poured from her eyes. Shelly ignored them. “I want to be with you. I also care about your brother. I—I—”

“You what?” Shelly demanded, stepping up to look her soon-to-be ex-girlfriend in the eye. “You cared enough not to be honest with me? You told me so much about your past, but I guess you let that one little thing slip, huh? I didn’t keep secrets from you, but I guess you already knew that from reading all my thoughts!” Her heart hurt. It was too much. Her chest felt like it was going to explode, while at the same time it felt empty and hollow. It was too much. All of it… Everything had happened too fast, and she wanted to curl into a ball and die, but she had to know. Now was the only time she could be certain of getting the truth from the woman she thought she’d loved. “What other secrets are you keeping from me?”

Jessica whispered something that was too quiet for her to hear with the wind.

“What? Speak up! I can’t wait to hear what else you’ve kept from the woman that has bent over backwards to defend you. I cared for you! I thought I might even love you, but—”

Jessica repeated herself loud enough for everyone to hear, and it took a few seconds for the words to sink in. When they did, Shelly wanted to scream and throw herself off the building again, this time on purpose.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Jessica turned and ran for the edge of the building. No one tried to stop her as she leapt into open air.

The pity in the eyes around her turned to shock, but Shelly didn’t care. All emotion was burned out of her. She had nothing left in her to feel. She was empty, but tears still found their way out of her eyes and down her cheeks as Jessica’s final words burned their way into Shelly’s soul.

“Angela, the Pillar of Fire, is my mother.”