Chapter 6

“Wow! Pat,” James said.

“To me, you really do look like Tale. Dusty does really good glamours that I can’t see through either.”

Lee looked at Dusty with a contemplative expression on her face. She remembered from the wizard’s day she held the week before that Dusty had no trouble with her glamours.

Lee walked over and said to Dusty, “Do you mind if I touch you?”

Dusty shrugged and let Lee touch her.

Lee touched her for a few moments and then stepped back and looked at her again before saying, “Very interesting. It seems that you are a descendant of a Shifter.”

“Your cousin Zeke did a little spell last week to show me who were Shifters at birth and who had accidentally become infected. Somehow, I missed that you were a natural who had been switched off.”

“With your level of magic, you would most likely have learnt of your hidden abilities in time, but if you wish, I can enhance them now and give you the knowledge to use them. Just be aware that if I do this, it will most likely affect James,” Lee told her.

“How will it affect James?” Dusty asked with worry.

“If you remember from the Wizards day, I was infected, for want of a better explanation, by a virus that can be passed to other mages and higher magical people.”

“It alters our DNA so that we can absorb DNA from other humans and animals by a direct exchange of fluids. So, if I was to kiss you and then you kissed James, then he would most likely be infected and become a Shifter as well,” Lee informed her.

Dusty frowned. She hadn’t really understood what Lee was on about when she explained that all her people were Shifter, during Wizards day.

“What about the rest of the crew being in contact with me?” Dusty asked.

Lee looked around at the other crew members, “You will all be at least three-gem Mages, so kissing or having sex with a person who carries the virus can infect you. We have determined that not all mages develop the ability to change form or gender, and some just don’t wish to, even if they can.”

“It also seems that a person with high mental resistance will stop the virus from affecting them or being passed on by them. We also have a spell that can stop it, and some higher-order magicians can control it being passed on if they know they carry it.”

Quean asked, “So we could be infected but not even know that we are unless we want to use these abilities.”

“Yes, the change has little effect on you mentally. However, if the virus does take hold, then you will pass the ability on to your children. Human women who haven’t tapped into their magical abilities, often know they have been affected because it can affect their menstrual cycle.”

“These women tend to come into heat rather than menstruate. They can even control when they become fertile. Most mages that have magical items already have this ability, so for them, they may not even be conscious of being changed.”

“What about men?” Kola asked.

Sean answered with a grin, “They get horny when near a woman they desire and clucky around kids.”

Kola chuckled, “So they are clueless.”

The rest of the group joined in with chuckles and sniggers of their own.

Chris looked at the group of people he would be spending the next few months with speculatively.

He had been quietly listening to all that Pat and Lee had been telling them. While the ship was very roomy for a strike craft of its class, twelve people living in close quarters tend to develop interesting personal and group dynamics that can become a nightmare to sort out for a Captain. If they all developed magical abilities, then these dynamics would be even more intense.

“Queen Lee, I have done some study into magic since we poor humans learnt of its reality. Isn’t one of the side effects of using magic an increased desire for sex?”

Lee grinned at Chris. “Yes and no. Food and sleep will recharge you. Having a supply of Quaz or DeRay crystals near you to draw magical energy from also helps suppress unwanted sexual desires. However, sex, preferably with another magical being, gives you both a faster and more enjoyable recharge, especially if your magical energies are very low.”

“Channelling magical energy during sex also lets you recharge your Quaz crystals faster. You can also charge any other crystals in your zone of influence.”

“Unfortunately, strong magicians can also affect people near them if they don’t shield their activities. If those people are magically depleted, then their desire to find someone to help them recharge is greatly increased.”

Quean said, “I noticed you didn’t specify heterosexual coupling.”

“No,” Lee replied. “The longer you’re a magician, the less inhibited you become as far as gender-specific sex goes. While male-female copulation can produce greater highs if you like same-gender sex, it can be just as rewarding, especially if the persons hold each other in high regard and can form a mental bond.”

Chris then stated thoughtfully, “If we all accept the change to become a Shifter, then this will allow those who are single to interact in heterosexual activates, if they prefer, with the others so they can recharge faster if they need to.”