Chapter 33

“So what’s been messing with us?” Michael asked, his knee bouncing. Now that he was aware of it, it was so obvious - a yearning, a desperate cry to prove the superiority of demons.

He was in a room with three teenage girls, and it was all he could do stop himself from making an excuse to leave with one of them and show what demons were truly capable of.

They’re not your thoughts, he reminded himself. You’re better than this.

Demons are better.

At everything.

He blinked twice, trying to stop the errant urges from influencing him, and was distracted by Brandi, slowly crossing her legs, uncontrollably drawing his attention to her flawless form.

Has she always been this gorgeous?

Lily desperately hoped that no one would realize how much she was buzzing.

She wasn’t willing to admit that she had a problem, not yet. After all, it had just been a weekend - no one developed a drug habit over a weekend, right?

No one got addicted after just a few days.

Still, she wished Niles would stop talking so she could go into the bathroom, jerk off and and snort a bit more of the white powder. She’d hidden it in a silver cross that she wore around her neck, something that she knew no one would call her on. Protection from demons, right?

Once she ran out, she’d stop seeing Greg. She wouldn’t get more. She’d stay away from the man who had introduced her to the best sex she’d ever had, and the white powder that blew her mind even more than the sex ... yes. That’s what she’d do.

Once she ran out.

She was hyper-aware of everything in the room, except whatever Niles was blathering about. She knew that there was a fly in the corner of the room, she knew that Duncan’s face was slowly turning red, and when Brandi’s legs crossed, it was all she could do to stop herself from moaning out loud.

Brandi’s legs were so fucking perfect. She wanted to crawl between them, lick the Protector’s pussy, then spank her and show her Greg’s magic powder.

But she couldn’t. She just had to sit through the rest of this lecture, or instructions, or whatever the fuck Niles was talking about.

Then she could go to the bathroom and calm herself down with a quick cum. And then perk herself up again with a quick snort.

Hurry the fuck up, old man.

Duncan’s hands were twisting anxiously.

It all suddenly made so much sense.

He’d been so confused, so stressed ... and then so proud when he’d worked out he was gay.

And now, he realized it was all completely false.

His sexuality, his ... feelings. All of it, implanted by some unknown force, for whatever stupid reason the evil forces of Antioch messed with people.

As Niles spoke, Duncan found himself flushing with excitement. The British man’s voice had elicited such pleasure from him over the past few days, whether he was berating Duncan or showing a rare moment of tenderness.

All fake. All of it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Brandi slowly crossing her legs. He turned his attention to her, hoping that seeing her perfect legs in motion would elicit something from him, something real.

Some remnant of his old self.

Nope. He still felt nothing at the sight of his long-time crush’s smooth skin.

I wonder if I ever will?

Nicolette picked at her nails, even as she carefully listened to Niles’ advice.

She knew that Niles was their best bet at getting everything back to normal. If they did what the librarian said, everything could go back to how it was.

She’d get her old body back ... and then maybe Michael would want to fuck her again.

God, she hoped so.

Brandi crossed her legs. The cheerleader couldn’t help but notice everyone pausing for a moment to check her out. Nicolette turned to see what the big deal was.

Why did everyone fucking love Brandi so much?

Her body, obviously, Nicolette conceded after just a second. Whatever was causing these strange changes in the group had given Brandi a body to die for, and she was dressed to show it off. Legs up to her ears, a midriff-baring top, and despite the fact that Brandi obviously wasn’t wearing a bra, her tits managed to be both perky and huge, with cleavage that one could drown a puppy in.

But what else?

Brandi’s eyes were glazed over, and her mouth was gaping open, a small pile of drool collecting in the corner. She was obviously dumb as a box of pens ... was that what men liked?

Or was it just the totally, ridiculously unfair air of destiny around her? Hundreds of girls were given the Potential every year, but only one got to be the Protector, and of course it was Brandi.

Of course it was.

Nicolette diverted her attention back to her nails, glowering at them with such an intensity that she was surprised they didn’t burst into flames.

She was going to get her revenge on Brandi. Being caught at Michael’s house in nothing but his robe had been a great first step, but she wanted more.

So much more.

“I’m telling you, it’s Rita.”

Brandi stamped her foot, and Niles clenched his fists, desperately trying to control his temper.

The group had split into three groups for brainstorming - Michael/Lily, Duncan/Nicolette, and Brandi/Niles. The moment Michael and Lily had gotten alone they’d shucked their clothes and began fucking - the pair had thought they were being subtle, but the sound of Lily’s whimpers were echoing throughout the whole library.

Teens, Niles thought with an angry sigh, and turned his attention back to Brandi.

“I’m telling you, it’s not.”

“It is,” Brandi said again, looking up at Niles with her sad, grey eyes.

Were her eyes always grey?

“Brandi,” he snapped, and this time it seemed to get her attention. “I’m telling you, it’s not.”

“Fine,” she murmured, and Niles put his hand over hers.

“It wasn’t a bad idea, but I looked into it. She really is here for research, and she doesn’t have nearly enough power to make these kinds of changes. I don’t think any demon does, unless all the changes took place in some kind of...”

Niles trailed off, as a thought struck him.

“Everyone!” he announced, drawing the attention of the room.

“We’re, uh, busy!” Michael called out. “Researching!”

Niles bit his tongue so hard that he was worried he might put a hole in it.

“Just ... pause for a second and listen to me. The only way a demon could have done this is if he had everything set up. That takes time and effort, so we must have all been changed in the same place. Think hard - is there anywhere that we’ve all been in the last seven days?”

There was a brief silence, then Lily’s soft moans resumed.

Niles clenched his teeth and sat down.

“We’ve all been in here,” Brandi offered, but Niles shook his head.

“Krist- ... your mother has been affected as well. Wherever it was, it has to have been somewhere that she’s been as well.”

“The school?”

“Too big. It couldn’t be anywhere larger than a classroom, otherwise the magical energy would escape. And I haven’t been into any classrooms since the start of the year, so that’s out.”

“Hmmm.”

Niles took a deep breath while Brandi thought, until her grey eyes lit up, and his attention was drawn to her boobs, bouncing as she jumped up in excitement.

“What about here? We’ve all been in here!”

On the other side of the library, Nicolette and Duncan had reached a similar conclusion.

“We’ve all been in here, right?”

Nicolette shot him a glare.

“Sure,” she said angrily. “We’ve all been in here. Haven’t we?“

Duncan looked at her in confusion, and she slammed her fist down on the table.

“I know that you and Brandi have been in here, anyway.”

The black teen’s eyes widened as he realized what his girlfriend - if she could still be called that - was getting at.

“Oh,” he said simply, and the silence between them stretched into a chasm.

“How could you?” Nicolette asked after the pause grew unbearable, tears welling up in her eyes.