Chapter Fourteen
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Mary was slumped over her desk as she woke up very early in her small makeshift office at the mansion. Despite intensive searching, they had been unable to track down Michelle or Tina.

Mary was all too aware that their resources were spread very thinly. Because they couldn't arouse any suspicion within the other groups, Mary knew that she could only bring in a limited number to help with the search. In total, she knew that she only had around thirty members at her disposal, with another ten flying in from California.

The airport and train stations had been the first to cover. But even so, Mary knew that Michelle and Tina could have been on the road all night. They could be at least five hundred miles away. As Mary was studying a map, she realized that it would be an impossible task to cover all the roads. It was obvious that Tina would do everything possible to attempt to evade detection.

It would help Mary a lot if she could guess their likely destination. Mary only had two possible guesses, namely New Jersey and Canada. Therefore, most of the personnel had been sent to either New Jersey, or the Canadian border.

Mary put down the map and rubbed her eyes. Even now, she still couldn't work out exactly how Michelle had escaped. She also couldn't decide whether she had been helped. At first, the facts appeared to indicate that Tina and Sarah had collectively sprung Michelle, with Sarah unlocking the window and Tina waiting for Michelle in the woods.

But after Mary had interviewed Monica, she was beginning to rethink things. Monica said that Tina had seemed genuinely shocked to see Michelle there. Furthermore, the only key to the window in the room had been accounted for. It seemed that the most likely explanation was that Michelle managed to pick the window lock, climb down to the ground, clear the perimeter fence and accidentally meet up with Tina. It seemed far-fetched, but so far, it was the only explanation that managed to fit the facts.

Mary held in her hand a small smooth stone. She knew that stone would be the key to recovering them both. It was because of such stones that no member had ever successfully left. Although their powers could not affect inanimate objects directly, their most powerful members had the ability to enchant inanimate objects with vast quantities of magic, in effect creating a magical battery. This energy could then be used a later stage. They only had a few of these power stones.

The stone Mary was holding had been an ordinary beach stone, until a few years ago when it was enchanted with the ability to incapacitate a witch, even with their magical protection and furthermore, it's enormous power meant that it could be used at a distance. Ever since the main transformation spell included magical protection, all the groups had done extensive research into spells that could somehow break through that protection, as it would give them a tremendous edge. So far, a power stone was the only thing.

But it still had strict limitations. Unfortunately for Michelle, no such stone could transform a witch. Also, this particular stone could only be used against a member of their own group and only then, if activated by someone emotionally close to the target.

That meant that it couldn't be used against Michelle, because none of them were emotionally close enough to her. However, it could be used to disable Tina. Mary guessed that without Tina, Michelle would find it impossible to survive and they would pick her up very quickly. Furthermore, any such Kithra attacked with this stone would be magically highlighted for some time afterwards so they could easily be tracked down.

Although Mary was close to Tina, the only two people really close enough were her mother and brother. At that point, Mary wondered how she could convince either of them to co-operate.

The second problem was that although it could be used at a range, it's range was still limited to less than ten miles, so currently, getting Sarah or Andrew to activate it was a moot point, unless they could get a lead on Michelle and Tina's position.

She put down the stone and considered the possibilities. She could see that the whole situation was threatening to rip their group apart. Divisions were already starting to appear. Michelle's escape had just entrenched each side in their positions. Ever since her escape, Sarah had been busy mobilizing support for Michelle within the group.

Hank's supporters were saying that Michelle's escape proves how dangerous she is and that she should be shot on sight. On the other hand, Sarah's supporters were citing that Michelle's escape was simply due to the terrible way that they had treated her since her transformation and anyone else would have done the same.

Both sides were in a minority. In the middle was the bulk of their group, who were decent honest and caring people. Mary knew that when the crunch came, they would not allow Hank to carry out his aim as long as Michelle was in their custody. However, she also knew Hank's actions twenty years earlier allowed him some extra leeway and Michelle was no longer in the relative protection of the mansion.

Mary knew that Michelle's best chance of survival lay with her quick recapture. Keeping her locked up may seem inhuman, but it really was the safest place for her. Hank and his gang were out there looking for her with the other teams. Despite strict orders from the Council, everyone knew that Hank was on a search-and-destroy mission and if he found her first...

Her concentration was broken by the sound of her cellphone ringing. She picked it up and answered it.

"Hello."

"Hi there, Mary. It's Richard. Sorry it's early, but you told me to ring first thing in the morning."

"Oh, yeah," Mary replied, remembering the fact that Richard was in New Jersey investigating Michael Curtis's background. "Where have you been. I've been trying to get hold of you all night?" Mary asked.

"I lost my cellphone with my luggage at the airport. Why? What's wrong?" Richard asked, detecting something wrong it Mary's voice.

"It's Michelle... err Michael. She escaped last night."

"Escaped," Richard half yelled, the shock in his voice obvious. "How?"

"Well it looks like she picked the lock in the secure room and escaped that way. Then it looks like Tina found her and they escaped together. We think they might have gone to New Jersey. I've got ten people on their way to you. They should be with you in a few hours."

"Shit," Richard replied.

"Yeah. I know," Mary stated. "Richard. What have you found out about Michael Curtis? Who the hell was he? So far, we discover he's a martial artist, master lockpicker and God knows what else. I mean who was this Michael Curtis, fucking James Bond."

"Huh, funny you should say that," Richard said. "I've been thinking the same myself."

"Why?" Mary asked.

"Well, remember back in California. She really beat up those rapists. She even broke bones."

"Yeah," Mary stated. "That was weird. But she is into martial arts. Those guys weren't expecting a fight back and she got lucky," Mary pointed out, not quite sure what point Richard was trying to make.

"Then why can't I find any indication of martial arts in her house. I've looked right through. There's no trace of any medals, trophies, no colored belt, no Karate robe and no telephone numbers of any clubs. If she was into martial arts, there isn't a trace of it in her house."

Mary was silent. She thought back to the fight she witnessed earlier. It then occurred to her that Michelle didn't fight like someone trained in martial arts. In fact she just kicked and flailed around like a girl and it was only because of her apparent strength that temporarily allowed her to flee.

"Then there's his past," Richard said, now referring to Michelle in the male sense. "It's all shaky. He hasn't done anything in the past three years, but he has lots of money in the bank from cash deposits. I'm wondering if this guy is CIA or something like that and his accident three years ago is just a cover story. Maybe the real Michael Curtis did die and this new person took over his place. I'm beginning to wonder if they are even his real family."

"How will you know," Mary asked.

"Well as soon as the body is discovered in California, I'm going to accompany the police officer that goes to his parents house. I'll try and scan them and see what I can find out."

"Right. Keep me informed. Right now any information helps."

"Okay", Richard agreed. "How did they actually get away from the mansion then?" Richard asked.

"We're still not sure how Michelle escaped from the room, but Michelle and Tina escaped in Monica's Mercedes. We haven't been able to trace either of them since. They could be anywhere now."

There was a slight pause from Richard before he said, "Don't you have any idea where they are?"

"No. All we know is that they're in Monica's car. She had her cellphone in the car and I've tried ringing it just so that I can speak to them and plead for them to come back, but there's no response. Monica thinks she put it on vibrate mode. Either that, or they've got rid of it."

There was another lengthy pause from Richard. "Did you say that they've got Monica's cellphone with them."

"Well, yeah," Mary replied, unsure of Richard's questioning.

"And it's definitely switched on?" he asked.

"Yes. I just tried to ring it a short time ago, but there was no answer. Like I said, Monica thinks she left it on vibrate mode earlier today and forgot to switch it back. Why? What are you driving at?"

"Well, I'm thinking of the 911 control center in San Diego. You do know that cellphones can be traced," Richard stated.

"I know you can trace the number, but we need to know where it is," Mary said.

"That's what I mean. You CAN trace a cellphone," Richard tried to explain. "Look, I'm not sure how they do it, but the cellphone company can do some sort of triangulation on the nearest base stations to the phone as long as it's switched on. We use it in the force when we get someone needing help, but they don't have any idea where they are. It's still in the trial stages and the it'll take some convincing, but it can be done."

*****************

Tina awoke early the next morning. Almost immediately, she began to feel the pull of Michelle's chemical attractions. At first, she tried to resist them, but she quickly retreated from that policy as her hands started straying towards Michelle's soft body.

She initially felt guilty at her actions, but she quickly reconciled her conscience by convincing herself that Michelle needed some sex to relieve her horniness, so in a way, Tina would be doing Michelle a favor by making love to her.

Michelle was facing Tina and she could see that Michelle was still asleep. Tina reached over and picked up some of Michelle's honey hair and pulled it in front of her. As Michelle began to wake up, Tina gently pulled the hair taught and teased Michelle's nipple with the strands of her own hair.

The nipple quickly hardened as Michelle opened her eyes. As Michelle realized what was happened, Tina saw a look of lust of her eyes.

Grinning slightly, Tina pushed herself down the bed and twisted her body. She carefully parted Michelle's legs and gently pushed her tongue onto the edges of Michelle's vaginal lips. Michelle, seeing Tina's legs at her end of the bed, couldn't resist the opportunity for a sixty-nine position.

Over the next half-hour, they continued to lick, suck and probe with their fingers. Tina's actions, brought Michelle yet more incredible pleasure as she cried out frequently. Tina noticed that Michelle's orgasms were very pronounced. There was nothing half-hearted about her climaxes. Tina guessed that this was yet another side effect of her sexy body.

Later, Tina helped Michelle to brush out her long hair, then weaved it into a long braid. It was a strange sensation for Michelle. It felt like a long tail hanging down from her head, but it was considerably easier than the mane of hair it had been earlier. It made her think that perhaps living with long hair wasn't quite as bad as she first thought, although she knew that she had a long way to go before she could ever accept it.

As Tina was finishing her hair, it gave Michelle an opportunity to for solid reflection of the facts. Yesterday had been full of emotion, but today her head was much clearer.

"What are we gonna do then?" Michelle asked Tina, now thinking about the future. Although she still hated it, she was beginning to accept the simple fact that she would have to spend a good part, if not all of the next eighteen months as a blonde bombshell.

"I've been thinking about that," Tina responded. "First, we need to get some money. It'll take a little time, but I can use my magic to help us there. Then we need to leave the country so they can't track us down. We can go to Europe. Most of witches have remained in the States, so we should be safe there. Then I'll teach you everything you need to know. First about being a woman, then about being a witch. I'll teach you all the magic I know."

Tina was gesturing with her hands for extra emphasis. Michelle noted that Tina seemed so much more energetic and bubbly, "You see, I've been thinking. The reason why people will want to kill you is that they see you as a threat. If we can somehow show them that you're not a threat; that you're a responsible person with magic, even the Raven's might accept you."

"So you're saying that I need to prove myself as a witch, then I might be accepted," Michelle said. At that moment, she wondered about her telekinetic powers. Although she now knew that the witches didn't posses that power, she believed she had used them wisely so it may help her case.

"Right," Tina said interrupting Michelle's thoughts. "That way, we could return home and maybe even get you turned back in fifteen months if that's what you want."

"What do you mean 'if that's what I want'. Believe me Tina, I WANT TO," Michelle stated.

"Michelle," Tina started. "I know that right now you'd probably do anything to be a guy again, but you've gotta realize that fifteen months is a long time. Your reasons for going back just won't be as strong and you might be settled by then. Next year, going back might not be the most important thing in your life."

Tina didn't have the heart to tell Michelle that even after fifteen months, her chances of being turned back were not certain. But like her mother, Tina could see the need for Michelle to have something to cling to, so she remained quiet on that point.

As much as she hated to admit it, Michelle was forced to agree partially to what Tina was saying. Although it was only three days into her life as a woman, she could see that her old life was already gone. Even if she could go back in fifteen months, she knew that she would have no friends or family, since they were now already lost to her.

*****************

Mary was sitting with Sarah in the back seat of the chopper as they sped to their destination. As soon as Richard had informed Mary that cellphones could be traced, she immediately instructed him to do whatever it took to find Tina's location.

Richard had visited the New York Police Department and used a mixture of his contacts as a Detective and magical influence to get the police to contact the cellphone company and track down Monica's cellphone.

The trace on the phone wasn't completely accurate, but still accurate down to a few miles. It had given the location of the phone as being in a town a few hundred miles West, in New York State, and also, in a stationary position.

From the location, Mary didn't believe that they were headed for New Jersey. Instead, Mary guessed that Niagara was their most likely destination. She had diverted as many persons from surrounding areas as she could to converge on those two areas. However, at the same time, she wanted to keep some people in reserve, just in case they had already discarded the cellphone and the reading they received was completely false.

Mary was using the chopper to go ahead, but because they wanted to be sure of recapturing both Tina and Michelle, Mary needed to wait for backup to arrive as Tina could be alerted by the presence of a number of incoming witches, especially those within her own group.

Tracking down another Kithra was not nearly as easy an operation as most people thought. Mary knew that Tina would have plenty of options at her disposal to evade detection. They needed to make sure that they covered all the bases before going in.

Mary held the power stone in her pocket. This was the break they needed to recapture them. All they had to do was get close enough to Tina to use the power stone. Sarah could then use it to incapacitate Tina until they reached her. Once they had negated Tina, recapturing Michelle would be an easy matter.

Mary had insisted that Andrew was kept at the mansion under guard. Mary had to convince Sarah to use the power stone against her daughter. She gave a brief glance over at Sarah, who had remained silent throughout the entire journey.

Mary's hopes were raised. All she had to do was make sure that they were both recaptured with very little fuss. It would prove to all those neutral members within their group that Michelle was no threat to them and is, in fact simply a person who desperately needs their help.

*****************

Chapter Fifteen
===============

Michelle relaxed as she floated two feet above the bed. Tina had gone out briefly to get some shopping, hopefully to get some clothes for Michelle to wear. Michelle had initially attempted her feminine poise again, but instead, when her powers woke up early again, she decided to use the opportunity to relax in that most unique way.

Michelle loved doing this. As well as being able to create a force with her mind, her powers also allowed her to negate forces, particularly gravity. The feeling of floating and weightlessness was exhilarating, like no other. It also allowed her to partially forget what had happened to her. For the first time in three days, she could no longer feel the weight of her large boobs on her chest, although she could still feel the sensations from them, largely because she had a bra strapped to her chest.

Michelle had stripped down to her bra and panties to float in the air because her dress was too restrictive. She decided that she would have to get rid of that dress as soon as possible. As she looked down at herself and she saw her long tail of hair floating in front of her face, she couldn't help but get slightly aroused again, despite the fact that Tina had relieved those feelings earlier. Tina had told her she would feel very horny for the next few weeks, but she had no idea just how horny.

Michelle couldn't believe how much she had enjoyed making love to Tina. It had felt far better than any sex she had experienced as a man. Tina explained to Michelle that this was perfectly normal because her body was designed for sex. Apparently, any of the witches could transform themselves and make their bodies equally enjoyable for temporary periods, but for Michelle it would be the other way around.

Tina also explained that if Michelle learned magic, she would be able to turn herself into a guy, with an equally sensitive body, which interested Michelle. The mere thought of having a cock that was as sensitive as her new groin made her get all wet.

As Michelle began to slide a hand down to her sex and have a gentle play around, she suddenly heard a sound at the door, which broke her concentration. As soon as her concentration was disturbed, Michelle felt the force of gravity began to return as she gently fell toward the bed. Although she could have easily remained airborne, she allowed herself to gently land on the bed. She sat up as she heard a key being inserted into the lock before the door was opened and Tina entered the room.

"Hi. You were quick," as Michelle walked over to greet her still in her underwear. She was expecting to have much more time.

"Well I didn't want to leave you alone for too long," Tina said.

"Hey, I've been feminized, not crippled. I can take care of myself," Michelle stated, although she could understand Tina's worry. They hadn't traveled all that far yesterday and they were still in "enemy territory".

Tina looked up and down Michelle's body noticing the fact that she wasn't wearing her dress anymore. Michelle saw where Tina was looking and struggled to give an explanation.

"Oh. I was err... you know..." Michelle said as she felt her face flush red slightly.

"It's alright. I understand. I told you you'd be horny for the next few weeks. Don't feel embarrassed about it," Tina said believing Michelle had been playing with herself on the bed, although Tina was slightly concerned that Michelle was playing with herself so soon after she had made love to her.

"So what did you get," Michelle asked, changing the subject and interested to see what Tina had bought.

As Tina emptied the bag containing an assortment of items, Michelle instantly saw a small box and picked it up. She had seen these items many times before, but she never had any use for them.

"Tampons. Are these for you or..." Michelle's words trailed off.

"You," Tina replied. "My periods not due yet. We want to be prepared, don't we."

"Yeah. Sure," Michelle replied, with an obvious lack of enthusiasm for having a period. "When will my first one be then."

"Anytime in the next month. You see guys have their own menstrual cycle as well, but they just don't have any symptoms. If you get the timing wrong, it's possible to get transformed straight into a period."

Michelle put down the box. The thought of actually having a period made her physically shudder.

"Oh, I even got us some new wheels," Tina said as she held up a set of keys. "See that Chrysler in the parking lot. That's our new car."

"How did you manage that," Michelle asked.

"A little mind control with the owner. I gave him the Mercedes. Tomorrow, when it wears off, he'll wonder how his Chrysler turned into a Mercedes, but that's not our problem," Tina giggled. Although Tina was generally very honest and did not use her powers for such gain, it was an emergency. They needed to swap cars.

"Didn't they have any clothes?" Michelle asked, feeling a little exposed in her underwear.

"Sorry. It was only a small store. I thought about going into town, but I didn't want to leave you for too long."

Michelle nodded, slightly dejected, "I was hoping I wouldn't have to put that damn dress back on again," she said as she walked over and picked it up. "I know I'm a woman now and I know I should wear dresses, but just... not yet."

"I know how you feel," Tina said sympathetically. "I'm sure Mom only made you wear it because she thought it was in your best interests. We'll get you some pants later. You'll feel more comfortable in them. But we can't go crazy with shopping. I only have two hundred dollars and that has to last us for a while. I can use my magic to get us all the money we need, but that will take a little time."

As Michelle was putting her dress back on, she thought about her emergency stash in Vegas. If anything counted as an emergency, her current situation did. That money could be very useful. "Well, I think I can help there."

"How?" Tina inquired as she helped to zip Michelle's dress back up.

"I have some money hidden away. Money that no one knows about. We can use that."

"Michelle. We can't go back to New Jersey. I know you want to go there, but it's the first place they'll look," Tina said. She knew that it would be hard for Michelle to accept the fact that she had lost her friends and family and going back to New Jersey would be very dangerous and emotional.

"It's not in New Jersey," Michelle stated. She would have dearly liked to go back, but she was only too aware of the dangers. It was the first place they would look for her.

"Oh, well then sure. Where is it?" Tina asked, her curiosity aroused.

Michelle realized that one answer was leading to another question. If she went any further, she knew she would have to tell Tina about her telekinetic powers. In the following few seconds, Michelle decided that the time to tell someone about her powers had finally come.

"Tina," Michelle started. "I've got a few things to tell you. Things you don't know about me. In fact, I've got a secret, a big secret. Why don't I make us a morning coffee and then we can sit down and talk about it."

Tina had a puzzled look on her face, but she just smiled and nodded. Michelle turned and walked away to make a coffee. Her hands were shaking ever so slightly as she poured the hot water into the cup. In three years, Michelle had never told a soul about her powers. At first, she wanted to tell everyone and share it with the world, but after a time she got so used to keeping it secret that it became so natural to her.

She was also nervous as to how Tina might take the news that she had telekinetic powers, because right now, Tina was quite prepared to throw her life away in order to help Michelle, mostly because Tina believed that she was entirely to blame for what happened.

But Michelle wondered how Tina would she feel if she knew that the reason for her spell being screwed up was Michelle's fault. Their feelings for one another ran much deeper than that and Michelle guessed Tina would fully understand, but she couldn't be sure. A part of Michelle told her that she should keep it secret from Tina.

But as risky as telling Tina might be, Michelle knew that she couldn't keep it a secret from Tina any longer. If Tina was prepared to go on the run with her for what could be the rest of her life, then she had no right to withhold that information. It was the time when she would finally reveal her power to another person.

Michelle returned with the coffee mugs. She placed her own mug on her side of the table, but as she was about to hand Tina her mug, she thought that the best way to explain her powers would be a demonstration.

"Hey, look at this trick," Michelle said.

Michelle placed the whole mug on the tip of her finger and spun it around slowly in the air with her other hand. The mug was spinning on the tip of her long fingernail.

"Huh, cool," Tina replied, impressed that Michelle had such amazing co-ordination with her new nails. The mug just seemed to be hovering on her fingertip.

"Now, this is the secret I have," Michelle said. She then lowered her hand completely, leaving the mug spinning in the air.

Tina's jaw dropped open about as far as it would go as she looked over at Michelle who appeared to be faintly smiling back. She tried to speak but she was completely lost for words. She couldn't utter a single sound.

Michelle carefully lowered the mug onto the table with her powers.

"H-How did you do that," Tina eventually asked. Her mind was now racing with the possibilities of how Michelle had seemingly done the impossible. Was it some sort of trick? Even a witch couldn't do what she just did.

"Sit down," Michelle said. "This may take a while to explain."

*****************

Sarah was mulling over her possibilities as she saw another fleet of cars pull into the rendezvous point. The plan was for them to circle around and close off all the possible exits. Sarah would then use the power stone to incapacitate Tina and they would then move in to capture them both. Although Michelle was the primary target, everyone knew that without Tina, Michelle would be easy pickings.

"Sarah," Mary said, walking up to her. "I can promise you that Tina will come to no harm and that I'll do the best I can for Michelle. But if we don't get them both, I can't give you any guarantees. You don't want either of them to be hurt, do you?" Mary said. She was playing a bit of emotional blackmail to get Sarah to go along with the plan.

"Fuck you Mary," Sarah shouted back surprising Mary as Sarah's coarse language. "How dare you say something like that. I don't want to see anyone hurt."

"I know this is hard for you," Mary said.

"No you don't," Sarah retorted. "When was the last time someone saved your life and then you had to deliver them so that they might be harmed. You've got no fucking idea what this is like," Sarah snapped back. She remembered Michelle saying something similar about what it felt like to be turned into a woman. She was beginning to see her side of the argument now.

"We don't know for sure what will happen to Michelle," Mary pointed out, thinking perhaps that she misread the situation slightly. She truly couldn't imagine how hard it was for Sarah; being asked to aid in their recapture, especially when Mary couldn't give absolute guarantees as to what would happen.

"Mary, why don't we just let them go," Sarah pleaded with Mary. "They won't hurt anyone."

"Sarah. You know it's not that simple. Even if they don't cause trouble now, what will happen in twenty years time when they have their own children? They'll want to transform them and make them witches. Then what will happen twenty years after that?" Mary stated. Although what she had said was very rhetorical, there was a very serious side. The Ravens had started out as just a single couple leaving the Hawks. Since then all groups had applied strict rules that no-one could ever leave unless they were first stripped of their powers at the time of the Spectacle.

"I need to pee," Sarah stated, not wanting to continue the conversation further, mostly because Mary was making a good argument. She headed for the washroom. Mary insisted that an escort go with her. Although she didn't believe Sarah would attempt to alert Tina, she couldn't afford to take the chance.

"How long till we've got them caged in," Mary asked a man.

"We've just finished briefing the final teams. They've now gotta circle round. It'll be an hour before all the roads are blocked off." Mary nodded.

*****************

Tina was still partially reeling from the shock of what she had been seen. Michelle had carefully described how she obtained her powers of telekinesis and how she had refined them over the years.

The new information explained a lot of things to Tina. While Tina couldn't be sure, she already suspected that it was the reason why her spell went so badly wrong. It also explained how Michelle had been so strong, despite having a body to the contrary.

However, it raised just as many new questions. What exactly was Michelle? How could she, through an accident gain the sort of power that no Kithra was capable of? Was she some sort of Kithra herself? These questions and others immediately sprang to Tina's mind.

Tina had asked Michelle some questions about her powers to try and work out if they were just a derivative of her own powers. She listened to Michelle's descriptions of her powers and noted some striking similarities. Michelle told Tina that her telekinetic powers were line of sight, unless she could find some other way to focus her power. It was an accurate description of how Tina's witch powers worked. Kithra also needed line of sight to direct their powers, unless they could telepathically link with their target, which could only be done if they had a close emotional link with the person.

However, there were other aspects about Michelle's powers that did not sound similar, like the way Michelle actually used her power. Firstly, although her powers was intermittent, Michelle appeared to have limitless use of them while they were working, seemingly able to use her powers all day long. This was in stark contrast to Tina's own powers, where she only had a limited amount of magic at her disposal.

Also, Michelle needed to constantly maintain her concentration when she used her powers, whereby Tina's magic had a sense of permanency about it. Even when doing temporary things, like transforming herself, all she had to do was concentrate at the start and then forget about it until she wanted the spell to end.

The final thing to consider was the fact that Michelle had been able to use her powers in her room, despite the fact that no spells could be cast in that room. No witch would have been able to use their power in that room, yet Michelle had.

Considering everything, Tina couldn't make up her mind if Michelle's powers were just a different type of witch power or... something completely different.

Michelle also told Tina how lonely she had felt after gaining her powers. Tina could sympathize with her there. After she was turned into Kithra, she had to effectively say goodbye to all her old friends who were not part of the witch community. But Tina gained new friends to compensate. Tina couldn't imagine the loneliness Michelle would have felt, not being able to share her experiences with others.

"So... why didn't you tell everyone about this yesterday?" Tina asked Michelle.

"I was scared," Michelle replied honestly. "I didn't know what was going on. No one was telling me a thing and when I overheard them saying that they were gonna kill me, I used my powers to escape. Will it make a difference now? Will they accept me if they know about these powers?" Michelle asked.

Tina thought carefully about the internal politics, "They might. It would definitely make it easier for the Falcons to accept you. Technically, you might even be a witch already if that's what these powers are," she said before thinking. "But, if they're not the same as witch powers, they might just perceive you as an even bigger threat than before, because you can do something they can't. You have a power they don't. The other groups definitely will think of you as a threat."

"That's kinda what I thought," Michelle nodded. "So what do we do?"

Tina kept thinking, "Same as before," she concluded. "We'll still leave the country and hide. Then we can experiment and see if this telekinesis is like my magic. At the same time, I can sound out the ground back here. I'm sure we'll be able to work something out."

Michelle nodded smiling. For the first time, she could actually see where she was going. As an architect, Michelle always liked to see a full game plan before setting out and it was being kept in the dark that made her so frustrated over the past few days.

"Michelle. You didn't tell me about this last night, so why are you telling me now?" Tina asked.

Michelle paused before speaking. It was now her time to feel guilty from a question. "Well, I didn't tell you last night because I was sort of afraid that you might not help me because this was all my own fault. But when I saw that you were going to throw away your life to go on the run with me, I just... had to tell you," Michelle said meekly.

Tina stood up and walked over to Michelle. "Michelle. This isn't your fault," Tina stated, amazed that Michelle could think to blame herself.

"But it isn't your fault either," Michelle pointed out.

Tina opened her mouth to speak when she suddenly realized what Michelle was trying to say. Tina had spent the past few days trying to work out what she had done wrong. Everyone had been telling her she did nothing wrong, but deep down she just didn't believe them.

Now she realized that she didn't do anything wrong. The problem was Michelle's telekinetic powers somehow interfered with her witch powers. But that didn't make it Michelle's fault either. It was an accident, pure and simple. Tina could finally see that.

Michelle stood up as she reached the same conclusion. They hugged one another tightly. Tears formed in both of their eyes as they shed the strong emotions.

"No more blaming ourselves, okay," Tina said, crying slightly.

"Agreed," Michelle replied, also beginning to cry.

The couple remained in that position for several minutes.

*****************

Hank was standing by his car as they prepared to move out. They were waiting for the final confirmation that the net was closed around Tina and Michelle, then they would go in and recapture them both. At least that was the official plan.

Hank however, had other ideas. He knew that Michelle unwittingly threatened the Falcon's very existence. Deep down he didn't want to do anyone any harm, but he had a strong belief that the few should be sacrificed for the welfare of the many. He vowed that he would gladly give his own life to protect the group. What he was not prepared to do, was give up the group to protect an individual.

However, he knew that the vast majority of the Falcons did not share his views. They didn't have the stomach for the tough decisions. He knew that the reason why he existed on the Falcons Council was to make those very decisions that no-one else dared consider.

Twenty years ago the Falcons had faced extinction.  They were vastly outnumbered by the other groups and the situation was grim. The rest of the Falcons wanted to keep their morals intact. Hank however, simply wanted to keep the group intact. No-one had been fully aware of just how far he had gone to secure their survival and he would lay awake at night for years afterwards wondering if he had done the right thing.

Eventually his conscience became numbed to the guilt and he finally convinced himself that he had had been right. He also vowed to do exactly the same again, if the situation arose. That situation was here.

He wasn't sure exactly how to proceed. He had a number of ideas in his head, but he hadn't decided on which path to take. As he noticed the signal that the final team was nearing it's position, he opened the car door and sat down, mulling over his plans.

*****************

Chapter Sixteen
===============
 

Tina and Michelle were laughing and joking together as Tina was driving down the interstate. Michelle thought that it was a little strange having the air conditioning on full, but Tina didn't want to get too horny just yet.

For both of them, they felt as if an enormous burden of weight had been lifted from them. They had each blamed themselves for the events of three days ago, yet they both now realized that what happened was a pure accident and they were equally to blame.

They were also beginning to feel even closer together because they were in a very similar situation. They had both lost all of their friends and family and they right now, they both needed each other more than anything.

"Will my powers make it easier for me to be a witch then?" Michelle asked as she was studying a map that Tina had bought from the store earlier.

Tina just shrugged, "I don't know. It might make it easier. It might make it harder. Until we find out exactly what this power of yours is, I can't say."

Tina took the turnoff to get onto the interstate. As she did so, in the corner of her eye, she could swear she saw someone she recognized on the far side of the road going in the other direction, some six lanes away.

She shook herself as she realized that she was feeling paranoid. She knew that every single shadow would be suspect to her now.

As she picked up speed, Tina was agreeing to herself that they should go and recover Michelle's stash of money near Las Vegas. At first, she was hesitant about the idea because a number of the Ravens live in Vegas. However, they didn't have much choice because Tina's own magical powers were getting low and she needed to keep some in reserve for emergencies. Getting a new car had been the last time she would be able to use her powers effectively for the new few days.

But Tina guessed that they should be safe going to Vegas, because they wouldn't actually go to Vegas itself, but just into the Nevada desert. Even if they did meet up with some Ravens, they would have no reason to suspect that Michelle wasn't just a member of her group. Over the new few days, Tina would coach Michelle in the ways of the Kithra, so she could easily pass off as a member of the Falcons. Her pendant would help, but she needed to know the phrases. Tina thought that it was best not to worry Michelle about the fact that they would be going into Raven territory, at least not just yet.

"Tina. Are you sure you want to go on the run with me?" Michelle asked in a tone that surprised Tina.

"What sort of a question is that. Of course I do," Tina stated.

"It's just that you don't need to. I mean, I can take care of myself. If you want to go back to your family, you can. I don't want you to stay with me just because you feel you need to protect me."

Although Tina could see that Michelle was now much more capable of protecting herself and Tina's burden of blame had been substantially lifted, Tina also felt an obligation to help Michelle. She did, after all, save her life and regardless of why her spell went so badly wrong, she wasn't just about to leave Michelle at this critical point.

"No, Michelle. I'm not leaving you," she stated emphatically.

"But what will they do to you if they catch you. I mean, I know they'll kill me, but what about you."

Tina could see what Michelle was attempting to say. She didn't want to be responsible for causing any harm to Tina if she felt she could do it alone. It was a sweet gesture, but although Tina now realized that Michelle wasn't the helpless female that everyone believed, she would still find it incredibly tough on her own. Michelle still needed Tina and Tina was not about to desert her, especially now.

"Look Michelle. They're not after me; they're after you. Yeah, they'll be pissed at me for helping you and if they ever do catch me, they'll punish me. But they won't hurt me. If there's ever a time when they close in on us, I'll let myself be caught so you can escape."

Although Tina wasn't completely sure that she would come to no harm and couldn't rule out the fact that she wouldn't be killed herself, she believed that she stood a much better chance of escaping execution than Michelle.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Michelle said, before Tina could think any more.

"No. I mean it. I'll do whatever it takes to defend you Michelle. You still saved my life and I'll do whatever it takes to protect you and if I'm ever caught, I'll never reveal your secret to them, no matter what. Not until I'm sure that it's for the best."

In the short time since leaving the motel, it allowed Tina to think about Michelle's telekinetic powers. Although her own group would probably welcome the news of Michelle's telekinetic powers, Tina was getting concerned that even the Falcons may consider Michelle's powers to be a threat. She wasn't sure how to proceed and it would take a lot of careful thought as to whether revealing Michelle's powers to the Falcons would be the right thing to do.

Tina's words however, greatly eased Michelle's worry that she might be tearing Tina away from her family. Michelle thought that there was no need to ruin another life. However, she saw from Tina's responses, that she had no intention of changing her mind.

*****************

"I'm sorry Mary. I can't do it," Sarah said as tears were in her eyes.

"You've got to," Mary replied sternly as she was trying to hand the stone to Sarah.

"I can't," Sarah stated.

"Sarah, listen to me. They're already caught. We've surrounded them. Monica's car is still there. They're gonna be caught either way, but this way, Tina will be all right. Do you really want Hank's storm troopers going in there first."

"But it'll hurt Tina," Sarah pleaded, knowing that an attack from a power stone could cause intense pain in the victim.

"Yes, it will cause her some pain and it might put her into a deep sleep, but it won't cause her any harm. She'll be alright."

Sarah shook her head again.

"It's your choice Sarah. But if you don't do it, I'm sure Hank will go in, shooting to kill. I don't know what he's planing, but I'm sure it isn't pleasant."

Sarah couldn't take the emotional torture anymore, "Forgive me Tina, please," Sarah whispered as she took the stone

*****************

Michelle was finally beginning to relax as Tina was driving them further away, now approaching the Pennsylvania border. Tina had suggested that they drive all the way to Las Vegas. Although they could attempt to get a plane or train, Tina didn't have much money left and didn't want to use her magic unless absolutely necessary.

What Tina didn't tell Michelle is that she also couldn't risk putting Michelle in an enclosed public place until her pheromones had calmed down because she would have hundreds of guys hitting on her within minutes. Constant attention from guys was something that Michelle would have to get used to, but now wasn't the time for her to start learning.

Tina also realized that it might do them some good to be on the road together for several days.

Suddenly Tina felt a little uneasy. She felt her chest becoming very tight as if a huge weight was pressing against her. Tina screamed in pain as Michelle nearly jumped out of her seat. Tina clutched the steering wheel hard and the car swerved across several lanes as Tina's body spasmed, narrowly avoiding contact with several other vehicles.

Michelle grabbed the wheel and pulled them over to the side. She tried to reach her leg over to hit the brake, but her dress prevented her. Thinking quickly, she looked down, reached out with her mind and applied pressure to the brake pedal. The car stopped quickly at the side of the road.

"Oh my God, they've found us," Tina screamed as she realized what was happening. They had gotten close enough to use a power stone on her. How did they find them?

"What, what can I do," Michelle shrieked in panic. She had no idea what was happening to Tina.

"Michelle, t-they've found us," Tina called. Through the pain, her mind was racing with the possibilities. If they were using a power stone against her, it would also mean that they could track her down like a bloodhound because her spirit would be magically highlighted.

"L-Leave me Michelle. R-Run Michelle. Leave M-m... " Tina's words trailed off as she slipped into unconsciousness.

*****************

Michelle rushed into the small hospital, carrying Tina in her arms.

"Help her, please," she cried out.

A couple of nurses ran up, bringing a hospital gurney with them. Michelle placed Tina on the bed. The nurses took her away. Michelle tried to follow, but another nurse held her back.

"We need to know what's wrong with her," she asked.

"I-I err... don't know," Michelle replied. She knew she couldn't tell them that she had been subjected to a witch attack.

"Has she taken anything?" the nurse asked.

"Err... No. She just collapsed and screamed," Michelle replied.

The nurse went away, leaving Michelle all alone. She slowly walked into a waiting area. She could instantly see a few open mouths as she took an empty seat, attempting to find a seat, which left the greatest distance between her self and any man in the room.

As she looked around, she could see that everyone was starting at her, some very blatantly. All of the guys were physically drooling and most of the women were looking at her with stares of jealousy; some nudging their partners, demanding that they not stare at her.

It was the first time Michelle was out in public dressed as a woman and she could see that it was going to take a lot of getting used to. When one of the nurses returned with a clipboard wanting to ask Michelle some questions, she was only too glad to finally get out of the waiting room.

"Hi there. Can I ask you that woman's name", the nurse asked.

"S-sorry," Michelle stuttered. She had been in this position before, when she had been asked her own name three days ago. But this situation was different.

Michelle knew that she couldn't give them Tina's real name. If she did that, it would alert her group to where they really were. But right now, Tina needed help. Michelle was no doctor, but she knew that whatever they did to Tina was very severe. She had screamed in pain and begged Michelle to leave her.

"Her name?" the nurse repeated.

"Brenda Simmonds," Michelle responded, making up the name on the spot.

"Address?" queried the woman.

Michelle paused, then made up an address. She knew that the nurses would soon discover that she hadn't given them the correct information, but it would at least buy her some time.

After the nurse asked a few more questions, she asked Michelle to take a seat, but Michelle couldn't sit down. Instead, she just paced up and down the corridor, thinking about her options. As she was thinking, several guys walked up to her, asking if they could help her. Michelle turned them all down, knowing the kind of help they really wanted to give her, but some of them wouldn't take no for an answer. Eventually a security guard came to her assistance.

Michelle knew that she couldn't stay for long, because the witches were obviously close. In fact, Michelle realized that she only had a few minutes in which to make up her mind. She knew that she had two possible choices. She could either barge into the ER and take Tina away, or she could leave on her own. Either way, she couldn't afford to stay for much longer than a few minutes.

The reason she had brought Tina to the hospital was so that she could receive help. But now that she was there, she realized that the only people that could help her, were the Falcons.

Michelle also noted that Tina had requested that Michelle leave her and run away. "How could Tina suggest that," Michelle thought to herself. There had to be a reason for it.

She knew that she had to leave, but the big question was whether she should take Michelle with her. Although she thought that she could take care of herself, Michelle realized all those guys started hitting on her, that she had a lot to learn.

She really needed Tina, but she had to put Tina's best interests first. Taking Tina away might be what's best for Michelle, but it might not be what's best for Tina.

*****************

Hank walked into the small hospital with three other men. As soon as Sarah had used the power stone on Tina, they all knew that something was wrong, because they couldn't locate Tina within their net. It quickly occurred to them that Tina and Michelle had already left the motel, obviously in another car, but they were still close enough for the power stone to work, albeit at a lesser degree.

Tracking down Tina had proved difficult. A power stone attack usually highlights the victim, making it very easy to locate them. Obviously because Tina was on the limits of it's range, their ability to locate her was made all the more difficult. They had already been to two false readings on Tina's position, but this time, it seemed to be more definite.

Hank also couldn't believe his luck at the fact that no other team was in the area. His team was completely alone. None of the other search teams even knew that they were at the hospital. As far as everyone else was concerned, they were still out looking.

"Hi, have you had two young women brought in here recently," Hank asked one of the nurses. "One's a tall blonde and the other a medium sized brunette."

"Huh, how could we forget," the nurse replied.

"Well," Hank asked impatiently.

"Yeah, well the blonde woman carried in the brunette a couple of hours ago. We took the brunette, a Miss Simmonds or something into the ER. After we asked the blonde girl some questions, she just vanished. It was really weird."

"Damn," Hank thought. He was really after Michelle, not Tina. "So, the brunette's still here then," Hank asked. At least capturing Tina was better than nothing, Hank considered.

"Yeah. We've put her in a side room to monitor her. Her pulse is very weak but we can't find anything wrong," the nurse replied.

"Can we see her?" Hank asked.

*****************

Michelle was in Tina's hospital room, gently holding her hand. Although she had thought about leaving Tina, she found that she just couldn't do it. Every time she attempted to start the engine of the car and drive away, her body refused.

Eventually, she realized that she couldn't leave Tina and that she had to go back. She decided to execute her second option, which was to take Tina away with her. She located another entrance to the hospital, then found a way to get into the suspended ceiling area. Using her powers to float along, it allowed her to get to virtually any room in the hospital.

At first she hovered above the ER, listening to the doctors around Tina. She was shocked to hear them saying how ill Tina had become. Although she was no doctor herself, she could tell that Tina's situation was grave, with her low pulse and blood pressure. Michelle knew, in that instant, that she couldn't take Tina away because it might kill her.

Eventually, after the doctors thought Tina's condition was stable, they moved her to an intensive care room, with various monitors. Michelle was able to float above the room and use her powers to close the blinds to the room. She then removed one of the polystyrene ceiling panels and entered the room properly, so that she could be with Tina.

Every five minutes, one of the nurses or doctors would come into the room to check up on Michelle. In order to remain hidden, Michelle had to use her powers to jam the door shut, until she was completely hidden from view.

As Michelle looked at Tina, she begged to know what the Falcons had done to Tina. They had almost killed her. A deep burning rage was filling the void of Tina's loss. Already, she was promising to make sure those responsible would pay if Tina did not recover.

*****************

Chapter Seventeen
=================

Hank and the three others were walking down the corridor with the nurse to Tina's room. Two of the men had made themselves invisible, so as not to attract extra attention. They had the ability to make themselves invisible to the human eye, though they would still show up on video cameras and other detection devices, which could not be affected by their magic.

When they reached the room and the nurse attempted to open the door, she discovered the door would not budge.

"Oh, not again," the nurse commented.

"What?" Hank asked, worried.

"This door keeps getting jammed," she said.

The nurse gave another strong push against the door, but it would not yield.

"Here, let me try," Hank volunteered, wanting to get into the room as soon as possible. The nurse took a step back as Hank moved in front of the door and pushed it. The door opened with surprisingly little effort.

As soon as the door was opened, all five people walked inside the small room, to see Tina lying on a bed, hooked up to various monitors. Hank breathed a sigh of relief. Although they could detect Tina was nearby; there was a thought at the back of his mind, that Tina might not be there.

One of the young men escorted the nurse out of the room again, to ask her some more questions. Everybody else just looked at Tina lying on the hospital bed.

Up above, in the ceiling, Michelle was straining to make sure that she didn't make a single sound as she floated above the suspended ceiling. In those situations, it seems that every sound is amplified a thousand fold. Her breathing seemed like jet engine and her bones appeared to creak loudly at every minute movement. Even her dress and her bra seemed to strain as they expanded with every breath she took.

Michelle was carefully watching what was going on below. She had been careless in replacing the ceiling tile, but it allowed her to peek down and observe the three people around Tina.

Michelle saw one of the men lean over Tina. At first, she though he was going to hurt her. Michelle was about to intervene, when he leant up.

"She'll be okay... as long as we get her back. She'll be in a coma for the next week though," he said to Hank.

"Are you sure she's okay? These numbers look pretty bad," the other man commented as he looked at the monitors.

"Yeah, this is what happens if they fight the attack," he pointed out. "It leaves them in a deep sleep for days. I know it looks bad, but she'll be fine as long as we get her back. If we don't get her back quickly, she could be stuck in this state for months."

At that point, the man who had been talking to the nurse returned. "I've asked around. Michelle disappeared about ninety minutes ago."

There were several groans of frustration around the room, that even Michelle could hear from her vantage point above. Michelle then felt a slight lurch as she fell a few inches toward the floor. She struggled to remain silent, but she was in near panic as she realized what was happening. Her telekinetic powers were weakening. If she stayed much longer, she would end up falling through the ceiling, straight into their hands. However, she used all her mental strength to try to stay as long as she could.

"Well, we had better secure the area, then get after Michelle," one man said.

At that point, Michelle felt that she couldn't hang around any longer. She used her powers to float directly forward, until she found a comfortable point from which she could rest.

"Yeah. Let's get after her," Hank said dejected. He knew that a ninety-minute head start would put Michelle well out of their range and probably into another search team.

"Hang on a minute," Hank said to the others as he reached the door. "I have a better idea."

*****************

An hour later, Michelle was speeding down the highway as a single tear rolled down her face.

Although she had wanted to stay around, she realized that events had moved faster than she thought. She had briefly thought about taking Tina with her, but there were four of them, with obvious re-enforcement's on the way. Had Tina been in a fit state to travel, Michelle might have attempted it, despite the long odds. But with Tina still in a bad way, Michelle was forced to concede that she was now in their hands.

Michelle felt a mixture of emotions. She was pleased that Tina would finally receive the help she needed. Michelle no longer feared for Tina's life.

However, her feelings were slowly turning to anguish at Tina's long term plight. She noted that Tina would be unconscious for the next week, which bought Michelle a little time. Although Tina had reassured Michelle that the Falcons would not hurt Tina, Michelle wasn't completely convinced.

Michelle knew that the situation had significantly moved on and that what Tina said couldn't be taken for granted. The Falcons might try to force Tina to reveal where Michelle was heading, or Tina may be forced into revealing Michelle's secret.

Although Michelle had complete trust that Tina would never do such a thing willingly, she was also aware that the Falcons may become increasingly desperate and might also use various methods to extract the information they required.

However, Michelle knew that she had a week with which to formulate a plan. She wondered what she could do in that week. She felt a longing desire to turn and drive to New Jersey and home. She wanted to run into her parent's house and throw her arms around them.

Her anger at the way the Falcons had harmed Tina, also left her with the feeling that she should go back, with all guns blazing, use her powers to the fullest effect, grab Tina and ride off into the sunset with her.

At that point, Michelle cursed herself for not finding out whether her powers could be used offensively against another witch. That was one of the many things that Tina had briefly discussed as they started their journey earlier and Tina promised that they would perform a quick experiment later in the day to find out.

But Michelle was no wiser. If her powers couldn't be used against another witch, then going back now, without a plan would be virtual suicide for her. If they were prepared to do what they did to Tina, it showed that their attitude to Michelle had hardened. They would be certain to kill her.

Michelle was forced to realize that the only viable plan she had left was to travel to Las Vegas all on her own and retrieve her money. Even after Michelle freed Tina, they would still need money. A round trip car journey would take approximately a week, which was exactly how long Tina would be incapacitated.

*****************

Tina was lying in a barn; her body still racked in pain. She didn't remember much. In fact, the whole day was a complete haze. She could remember escaping with Michelle yesterday and making love to her last night. She could briefly remember waking up with Michelle, but everything became hazy after that point.

She had no idea how she ended up in barn in the middle of a field.  After thinking, she guessed that the Falcons must have found them, used a power stone on her and somehow Michelle and Tina became separated.

Tina guessed that it must have been a very hard decision for her to make, but she realized that Michelle had little choice. Her life would have been in grave danger had she remained.

What Tina couldn't work out, was why she had only been knocked out for a few hours? She had checked her watch and unless she was mistaken, it was the morning after Michelle and Tina ran away.

A power stone attack usually leaves the victim in a coma for at least a day and anything up to a week if the victim fights the attack. The only conclusion that Tina could reach was that something had gone wrong with the power stone attack, causing her to be only unconscious for a few hours.

Her thoughts turned to Michelle. She tried to remember where Michelle might be going. Surely they would have made arrangements to meet up in case they were separated, but Tina's memory was too hazed to remember.

But oddly enough, Tina knew deep down that Michelle could take care of herself. She couldn't work it out because Michelle was now a helpless female, but some part of her was telling her that Michelle was more than capable of looking after herself.

All the same, she also felt the Michelle was heading into grave danger, which even she couldn't handle alone.

Tina now began to wonder why the Falcons hadn't been able to track her down. An attack from a power stone magically illuminates the victim, allowing them to be easily tracked down, which was why it was very difficult to ever leave the group. Tina had been expecting them to turn up any minute, but so far nothing.

*****************

Michelle found that her face was impossible to keep dry. She had quickly crossed into Pennsylvania and had continued on the route that she had planned to go to Las Vegas.

At each exit, she literally had to grip the steering wheel hard and grit her teeth to avoid turning back to Tina or to turn toward New Jersey.

Although her heart was almost tearing her to go back, Michelle knew that such a tactic would be virtual suicide. Even if her powers could affect other witches, she realized that she was still only one person. She was hopelessly outnumbered.

Michelle glanced over to the empty seat beside her, that should have contained Tina. As well as an empty passenger seat, Michelle felt a huge void inside her soul as if a part of her had been ripped away. Last night, when they made love, Tina had taken a small piece of Michelle with her and now that piece was missing from Michelle.

Earlier today, for the brief period of half an hour, Michelle had felt complete. She had finally revealed her secret to someone that understood. Even being a woman didn't seem so bad in Tina's company.

But her euphoric feeling was now shattered. Again, she looked down at her gorgeous body and felt a feeling of disgust that this body had caused her so much pain in such a short time.

As she drove onwards, Michelle vowed that she would never abandon Tina, because at that point, Tina was all she had to live for. She had lost everything and everyone else. If she couldn't be with Tina, then Michelle didn't think there was much point in carrying on. She would travel to Las Vegas, retrieve her money, then return and attempt to free Tina. Michelle worked out that in the time it would take for her to get to Vegas and back, Tina would awaken from her deep sleep.

Michelle would then use any method at her disposal to free Tina and if anyone got in her way, she wouldn't hesitate in hurting them. They could then be together again. In their short time together, Michelle never said one particular thing to Tina. Although she had only known Tina for three short months, most of which had been over the phone and the Internet, Michelle only now, realized how much she loved Tina.

As she attempted to overtake another car, she checked all of her mirrors several times, for signs of pursuit. She hated this feeling of intense paranoia, but she knew that it was a feeling she would simply have to get used to.

*****************

Sarah was waiting at the rendezvous point, when Hank and Mary returned several hours later.

"So What happened?" Sarah asked.

"We couldn't find them," Mary replied.

"What?" Sarah said shocked. Although using the power stone hadn't gone according to plan, she thought that their capture would still be a formality.

"Nope. Can't track them either. They got away," Hank said.

"What about Monica's cellphone?" Sarah asked.

"They switched cars earlier today. We found her car at some motel where they stayed. Monica's phone is still in there, stuffed down the side of the seat. They probably never even knew it was there."

Sarah sighed heavily at the news, before saying, "Oh, well, let me know anything else." They both nodded. Sarah then turned around. Mary walked after her to provide some comfort.

Hank waited until Sarah and Mary were out of hearing range and then she turned to his associate and said, "Are the arrangements made."

"Yep. Apart from the us four at the hospital, no-one knows that we even found Tina. We've adjusted the memories of the nurses and doctors at the hospital. It was a kludge doing all those memories, but it should work as long as it isn't questioned too much."

"Where's Tina now?" Hank asked.

"Still in that barn, where we put here. Are you sure no one else will be able to track Tina?"

"Yes," Hank replied. "As long as we know exactly where Tina is, I can divert the other search teams away from her so they don't pick her up," Hank said. "Are the two guys are up to the job of tracking Tina?" Mary asked.

"Yeah. Now that they've "locked onto" her, they shouldn't have a problem. They'll track Tina right up until she meets Michelle. Then they'll deal with the problem," he said smugly.

Hank nodded his approval, then the man turned and walked away. Hank then returned to his car and sat down to consider what he had done. He fully understood that others had cast him as an evil maniac because he called for Michelle's sacrifice. Instead, he thought of himself as a realist. He genuinely believed that what he was doing, was for the good of their group.

He pondered over what had happened at the hospital. After he realized that his main target, Michelle, had left, it occurred to him that Tina and Michelle must have arranged a rendezvous point somewhere, or at the very least, Tina would have known where they were heading.

Then one of his men reported that Tina was showing signs of emerging from her coma and with a little help could be brought out quickly. Although the usual knockout time was a week, Hank guessed that because Tina had been on the limits of the range of the power stone, her coma would be considerably shorter.

Hank was then faced with a tough decision. He knew that Tina would never reveal to him where Michelle was heading. Even Hank was aware that Tina could be a stubborn bitch when the wanted to be and if he tried to force any information out of her, she could easily call for help magically.

Then, a point of brilliance hit him. They removed Tina from the hospital, then placed her in a remote barn. Two of his men were now discreetly tracking her.

He genuinely felt sorry for both Michelle and Tina. Deep down, he felt that they probably didn't deserve what he had planned for them, but none of that mattered. The only priority on his mind was the welfare of the group. He felt passionately about his group and he would do anything to protect their interest, including the sacrifice of one of it's members.

After all, it wasn't the first time he had to do it. Unknown to everyone else, he had to sacrifice one of the Falcons twenty years ago to secure the help of the Eagle's to prevent them from being wiped out. He smiled gently in the irony. That person had been Tina's father and now, twenty years later, her family line would have to grieve again in order for the rest of the group to survive.

*****************

Tina was walking along the highway into the town ahead of her. It had been an hour since she woke up in the barn and there was still no sign of the Falcons or Michelle. Seeing a small town in the distance, Tina decided to set about walking there.

Her state of concern was starting to turn into panic. She had soon discovered that her powers were completely gone. She guessed that she had used up her last reserves of magic to fight off the power stone's effects. She could no longer cast a single spell. It would be weeks; months even before her powers returned in full.

Tina really needed her powers. Without them, she was useless. But she didn't only need them for herself; she needed them to protect Michelle.

Her panic started settling into a deep-seated fear that Tina had never felt before. Ever since being an adult, she had always had some amount of magical power to call upon, which guaranteed her safety. Now she was completely helpless and worse, she had no idea where Michelle was.
 

End of part Two.
 
 

As I said at the start, I have no plans to complete this story. From the very start, it was envisaged that the story would be three to four parts long. Because I have had to stop writing, I do not know when (or even if) I will complete the story, sorry.
 

Phil Stevens.
Phil_stevens@bigfoot.com