Heather's story part 13

Heather's Story
By Varian Milagro

Chapter 13

Abigail was in her room, sitting on her bed next to Heather who was lying face down with her head buried in her arms. Mr Whiskers was hunched down by Heather’s head, poking his nose on her forehead.

“There’s lots of different possible reasons why they’re not answering the phone,” Abigail said as she rubbed Heather’s back. “They’re probably somewhere they can’t get a signal or maybe they forgot to charge it and the battery died. Did you leave a message?”

Heather’s head popped up. “It never went to voicemail.” Her face was smeared with black makeup, especially around the eyes.

Mr Whiskers nudged her face and then licked her chin, as if trying to cheer her up.

“Send them a text, They’ll get it once the phone is working again.”

Heather rolled onto her side. “You don’t understand. They might not even be the same people anymore. The magic is still changing people. I only meant for Todd and Kirk to kiss and now they’re gay. I wanted your mom to hire a maid, not become one. Who knows what’s happening with Jimmy and Donna. I aged them. They could be older than our parents by now. Older than our grandparents!”

“Please don’t remind me about my mom. I’m trying to get that image out of my mind.” Abigail crossed the room and picked up a box of Kleenex off her vanity. “It’s only been a day since you used magic on your brother and sister. It took my mom like three days to go full on fetish maid.” She set the tissues on the bed next to Heather.

Heather picked up the phone and typed, “Call me!”

Abigail wiped at smudges on Heather’s face with a tissue. “What are you going to do if you get a hold of them? Have them drive back here? Wasn’t the point to get them away from Bethany? Plus, if it took them a day to get wherever they are, won’t it take another day for them to get back?”

“I have to find them and undo whatever it is that I did. I’ll probably just make things even worse, but I have to do something. Bethany knew something like this would happen. That’s why she wouldn’t let Starshine teach me anything about my powers. It’s why she blocked my memory. I’m going to kill her.”

“Don’t say that, not even as a joke.”

“Who’s joking.”

Abigail leaned away from Heather. “Okay, now you’re scaring me.”

It tore at Heather’s heart to see her best friend look at her with fear in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m not going to kill her. I promise.”

“Why don’t you call her?” Abigail tossed the used tissue into the small trash can sitting next to her nightstand.

“You really want me to call that bitch?” Heather struggled not to snap at her friend, knowing that she was only trying to help. At the moment she felt more like silently brooding than brainstorming, wanting to spend some quality time feeling sorry for herself. She’d had a shitty week and she deserved a little pity party.

Abigail laughed for a second and then stopped abruptly. “Sorry, it’s just so weird hearing you swear. You know that Bethany has Starshine’s phone number. Maybe she’ll give it to you. What can it hurt? It’s not like she can control you over the phone.” Abigail frowned. “Can she?”

“I’m not calling her. I don’t want anything from her, especially her help. She’s the reason I’m here. She thought that it'd be funny if I showed up not knowing anything about what they’d done to me. She was.hoping that I’d corrupt your family.” Heather looked around the room, at the poster of The Clash on the wall, the well used ashtray on the nightstand, Abigail’s punk Snow White t-shirt and her spiky, pink hair. Then she thought about Kathleen giving Gordon a blow job dressed as a French maid downstairs. “She got her way, again.”

“We’ll find Starshine without Bethany’s help. I’ll try googling her.” Abigail hopped off the bed and then grabbed her laptop of her dresser.

“I don’t know if I should talk to her, either.”

Abigail frowned. “Why not?”

“She’s the one who performed the ceremony. She’s the one who did this to me, really. Bethany orchestrated it, but it was Starshine who actually did the deed.”

“Do you remember what happened in the ceremony?”

Heather sat up. “I still don’t remember all that much about it, but when I try to force myself to remember I get this image of something huge. A dark and powerful monstrosity. And a voice. It sounded like everything horrible in the world concentrated into a single sound. I heard that voice again last night. After I used magic on Janet it told me that I had done well and it rewarded me. The pleasure you felt when I transformed Raymond into Rae Rae was only a small taste of what I experienced on Friday night.”

“Woah.” Abigail’s eyes went wide. “I can’t even imagine that. What I felt at the yard sale blew my mind.”

“As soon as it was over I wanted to feel it again. I still do. I didn’t care that the voice sounded like evil personified. I just wanted more. When I used magic on Hanna and the others last night I didn’t get the same pleasure. Today, when you went to get the mochas I used magic on Mr Whiskers. When I did, I felt something leave my body, something dark and powerful that reminded me of that towering creature from my dream. I think that part of that thing is inside me and that I transferred some of it into Mr Whiskers. Most of it’s still inside me, but it’s in him too, linking us together. Now when he purrs in my ear he tells me how to change people so I can get rewarded again.”

“You can’t listen to him,” Abigail took Heather’s hands in hers and stared into her eyes. “It’s wrong to harm others for your own pleasure; you have to resist. You’ve spent your whole life resisting temptations of the flesh. You just have to make it a few more hours and then Pastor William will be back and he’ll remove this burden from you.”

“I’ll try,” Heather said.

“You have to do better than try. I’m sorry that I talked you into using your magic. I thought that it could be used for good.”

“I’m sorry for what I’ve done to you,” Heather said.

“You haven’t hurt me.”

“Look around you.” Heather waved her arm in a wide arc. “Have you seen your room lately? It used to be cute and girly girl.”

“It was disgustingly pink and you know it,” Abigail pulled two cigarettes out of her pack. “I prefer to think of myself as liberated, not corrupted. I like my new look. The more I think about it, I kind of like what you did to my parents. It’s creepy seeing them getting busy, but it’s better than them getting a divorce or something like that. I’m happy with how I am and I know that you are too. We’ll get through this. I’m here for you. I’ll help you stay on the good side of things. I won’t let the evil take you. It can’t have you. You’re mine.”

“Thank you.”

Abigail lit both cigarettes and then handed one to Heather. “So, what did you do to Janet besides turn her into a smoker?”

Heather took a long pull on the cigarette, loving how they always helped her relax. “I’m not totally sure, it had something to do with her getting pregnant and I don’t think that Pastor William is meant to be the father.”

Abigail looked frightened again. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know, really. I’m only guessing, but in one of my dreams Bethany told me to be at the church this Sunday. She said that it had something to do with Starshine. I don’t think that the only purpose of the ceremony was to give me magical powers. Whatever they’re planning is going to happen tomorrow and Janet is now a part of it.”

“I still think that you should contact Starshine if you can.” Abigail said. “At least hear what she has to say. You might be able to teleport for all you know.”

“But how can I trust her when I don’t know what’s motivating her?”

Abigail’s face lit up. “Pastor Williams is supposed to be home sometime tonight. We could call Janet and find out which way he’s coming. We could drive that way and meet him on the road.”

Heather used Abigail’s phone to call Janet’s home phone.

Abigail studied her cigarette for a moment. “I wonder how many people started smoking because of my mom. Think of all the people she’s interacted with since Wednesday. You think they’re going to start dressing up like French maids, too?”

“I don’t know,” Heather ended the call when the answering machine picked up and then hit redial. As she listened to the phone ring she thought about Abigail’s question. It made her wonder what would happen to people exposed to Wendy and Kristen. Would teenagers near Kristen turn into cam girls? Would adults around Wendy change into toddlers? Were women who interacted with Paula going to grow cocks?

Abigail started giggling.

“What’s so funny?” Heather said.

“I just imagined a parade of lady clowns following Hanna through the streets.”

“Fuck! I keep getting an answering machine.”

“I’ll never get used to hearing you swear,” Abigail said in awe.

Heather rolled her eyes. “Do you know if Janet has a cell phone? I have Pastor William’s number on my phone, but Bethany still has that.”

“I’m not sure.”

Heather chewed the end of her thumb for a moment. “I think that you’re right about contacting Starshine, but I don’t know her number either. I have a strong feeling that numbers 3, 4, 7 and 0 are important somehow, but I don’t know why.”

“If she has a Laramie phone number than you know the area code is going to be 307. We could dial every number in the 343 prefix and hope we get lucky. That’s assuming that those numbers are actually part of her phone number and she even has a Wyoming area code.”

“It’s hopeless,” Heather said as she stood.

“Time for a little google-fu. I mean, how mean Starshines can there be in Wyoming?” Abigail opened her laptop and then started typing. “Do you know anything more about her other than she’s old, dresses like a hippie, and has a weird first name? Starshine is her first name, right?”

Abigail did a variety of searches on the name Starshine along with other words like witchcraft, occult and magic. While Abigail was busy at her laptop, Heather walked over to the standing mirror.

“I should probably call Nora and the others to see if they’re experiencing anything strange.” Heather gazed at her lips in the mirror. Everyone was going to assume that she’d had surgery or been stung by a swarm of bees. Her friends were going to be so jealous.

Abigail stopped typing as she looked up from her laptop. “You can talk to all of them in a couple of hours at the church. You know that they’re all going to be there to hear Jennifer sing tonight.”

Heather groaned. “God, I forgot all about that.”

Abigail’s face fell. “You don’t want to hear Jennifer sing again?”

“I do, but I kind of don’t too.” Heather unzipped her corset, let it fall and then stared at her breasts. Despite being so much larger, they sat high on her chest, jutting straight out like a big “fuck you” to gravity. They were especially impressive on her slender frame. She’d lost at least two inches around her waist, but nothing around her hips or ass. She turned slowly, checking out her new tits from both sides, loving them from every angle.

Mr Whiskers rubbed his body against her legs, but she ignored him.

Abigail frowned at her laptop. “None of these results looked even remotely relevant.”

Mr Whiskers meowed angrily and then stomped to the other side of the room. Heather felt bad about ignoring him, but she didn’t need any more temptation at the moment. Gazing at the changes to her own body, she wanted give Abigail some of the same, but worried about potential unintended changes.

Abigail’s phone rang. She picked it up and saw that it was Todd. “I missed you this morning. Where did you and lover boy take off to? You know Heather’s mad at you for monopolizing all of her man’s time.” Abigail smiled and shrugged at Heather. “You know what I mean. You practically knocked her over diving on his cock last night.” Another pause. “Yeah, yeah. Likely story. So, what did you really call me about?” After a half minute Abigail said, “Let me check with Heather.”

Heather continued to stare at her reflection. “What do they want?”

Abigail hit the mute button. “They want to go to Adorn before seeing Jennifer perform.”

“I don’t want to go. An hour ago all I wanted to do was rip your clothes off. Now all I want to is put on some headphones and curl up in a ball.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Abigail walked toward Heather. “I’d love to be ravished.”

“Sorry.” Heather looked at her the tattoos on fingers spelling out “love” and “hate” in beautiful calligraphy and then at the wicked fairy-spider creature on her shoulder. She wanted to hate them, but couldn’t; they looked cool as hell. “I sure am glad I don’t have arachnophobia.”

“I’d like to go.” Abigail traced her finger around the mirror’s reflection of Heather’s nipple. “I’d like to get mine pierced, too.”

“Why don’t you go without me?” Heather picked up a pair of small silver hoops and held them up to her nipples, imaging that they were Abigail’s and how much fun it would be to tug on them with her teeth. She started getting wet. “I’ll be fine here by myself.”

“I’m not leaving you alone.”

Heather really wanted to stay away from the public as much as possible, afraid that she might be tempted to ruin someone else’s life for her own selfish pleasure. Yet, she could also tell that Abigail really wanted to go and she wanted to be a good friend. “When do they want to leave?”

Abigail unmuted her phone. “When?” She looked back at Heather. “In about an hour.”

Heather dropped the earrings back into Abigail’s jewelry box. “Fine. I can shop for some nipple jewelry while we’re there.”

“We’ll pick you up at five.” After a pause she said, “I’ve seen how you drive, that’s why I’m driving. Bye” Abigail ended the call and then dropped the phone into her purse. She slinked up behind Heather. “Thank you.” She gave her a soft kiss on the neck, her hands roaming over Heather’s new tits. She pinched her nipples, making them harden. Heather let out a soft moan.

“You know, you could use your magic to pierce my nipples. You could add a cup size to my tits while you’re at it.”

Heather twisted around in Abigail’s embrace until their faces were inches apart. “Weren’t you just telling me that I needed to resist using magic?”

“I meant using it to fuck with people’s lives for your own pleasure. This is something we both want.” Abigail gave Heather a gentle kiss on the lips and then followed it up with a deep, passionate one.

After a minute Heather pulled her head back. “I’d love to give you another make over, but I’m so afraid of what my magic is doing to people. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t hurt me, baby. You’ll save me from the pain of a needle going through my nipples.”

Heather pulled herself free from Abigail’s arms. “I’m afraid that I’ll lose myself in the moment. A stray thought and you might end up stripping for a living, or worse.”

Abigail tried to hide her disappointment. As she pulled off her Snow White t-shirt she said, “I’m going to get out of yesterday’s clothes and then take a long hot shower. Want to join me?”

“Do you promise to behave yourself in there?”

“Absolutely not. I intend to ravish every inch of you. I’m going to make you scream and I hope that you’ll do the same to me.”

“I better not. The last time you gave me an orgasm I did this to you.” Heather patted the top of Abigail’s spiky hair.

Abigail stared hard at Heather. “I’m not afraid of you. Whatever happens I’ll always be there for you. If I’m a vanilla Christian girl, a pink haired smoker, or a big titted stripper. I’ll always be yours.”

Heather let Abigail drag her towards the bathroom.

It wasn’t the first time the girls had bathed together. When they were young they used to have bubble baths together fairly regularly. They’d showered together many times together in PE, too. They’d never been intimate before while bathing. That was something they’d never be able to say again without lying.

Abigail started washing Heather’s back which quickly turned into Abigail washing Heather’s breasts. Abigail stood behind her best friend, her own breasts rubbing against Heather’s back, as she massaged the soap into Heather’s tits for over a minute and nibbled on her ear. Heather moaned and pressed backwards, loving the feeling of Abigail’s nipples poking her skin, wanting to taste them, but not wanting to interrupt Abigail’s erotic ministrations.

After a few minutes Heather could take it no more. She twisted in Abigail’s grip and kissed her, the water from the shower mixing with their saliva. One of Abigail’s hands moved south. When it brushed the outer lips of her pussy, Heather grabbed Abigail’s wrist.

“Don’t.”

“Relax. You’re going to enjoy this, trust me.”

“I’m not ready.”

“Okay, how about this instead.” Abigail moved her hand back until her fingertips brushed up against Heather’s clit.

A jolt of electricity shot through Heather’s spine. “That’s nice.”

They started making out. Heather started playing with Abigail’s clit, too. She nearly fell over a few minutes later when her legs suddenly turned to jelly, but she didn’t want to stop.

Abigail pulled her lips away for a moment. “Why don’t we lay down?” She lowered herself to the shower floor and then pulled Heather down on top of her.

Steam from the shower was making it hard for Heather to see, but she didn’t need eyesight at the moment. She was happy with taste of Abigail’s mouth, the touch of her hands, the sensation of the hot shower water pummeling her back, and the sounds of their moans.

“I want you in me,” Abigail moaned into Heather’s mouth.

Heather was happy to oblige. She slid her hand along Abigail’s slick pussy lips. The water was washing away their juices quickly, but it couldn’t keep up with the torrent that Abigail was producing. She slipped in one finger, heard her lover gasp and then slid in another.

“More. I want more,” Abigail groaned.

Heather slid her thumb along the cleft of Abigail’s ass, seeking out her rosebud. She pressed against Abigail’s back entrance while her fingers explored the velvet delight of her inner sanctum. Abigail writhed beneath her. She was so into the pleasure that she was giving and receiving that she was losing the sense of time.

“Put it in me,” Abigail screamed.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I don’t care. I need you in my ass.”

Heather jammed her thumb inside of Abigail’s asshole and it sent them both over the edge. They shrieked in unison as they thrashed together at the bottom of the shower. They continued to make out until Abigail was sure that the water would turn cold if they didn’t stop. Heather was able to resist using her magic, to the disappointment of both of them.

Once they were dry Abigail turned on some music, starting with “Savior” by Rage Against, a big departure from all the other songs they’d listen to with “savior” in the title over the years. Heather had a hard time getting into the hyperactive music, but Abigail seemed to enjoy it.

Heather decided to wear the Victorian corset dress that Patricia’s mom had given her. It was covered in black lace and was sleeveless which would allow her to show off her new tattoo. To go with her spider tattoo she selected a pair of black stockings with an intricate spiderweb design. To complete the outfit she’d wear a pair of black satin, elbow length opera gloves and a pair of high heeled ankle boots.

For jewelry she went with silver bars in the nipples, a sparkling zirconia for her bellybutton and an assortment of rings in her ears. Since she was going to church she considered wearing a cross around her neck. Abigail had a large assortment hanging from hooks on the wall next to her vanity. As she reached out to grab a silver cross hanging a delicate silver chain she suddenly felt a sharp pain in the calf of her right leg.

Abigail whipped around in her chair at the sound of Heather’s scream. “Oh my god, did he just bite you?”

“He’s just playing,” Heather said as she limped to the bathroom.

After applying a band aid and putting on a new pair of stockings she decided to forgo the cross and wear something of Patricia’s, settling on an elaborate onyx necklace that looked like it was designed for the elegant lace dress she was wearing. She wasn’t sure why Mr Whiskers didn’t want her to touch the cross, but decided to trust his judgement.

Abigail dropped the punk chic and went straight punk, wearing jeans with large rents and a torn Sex Pistols t-shirt she found in Patricia’s things. She added a studded collar and matching bracelets. She draped an unlit cigarette from her scarlet lips to complete the look.

To avoid unnecessary temptation, Heather made Mr Whiskers ride in her purse. He didn’t look pleased, but he obeyed nonetheless.

On their way out of the house they found Kathleen in the family room with a feather duster in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other, still dressed in the French maid outfit. She flitted from shelf to shelf on five inch stilettos, her flared skirt flipping up as she dusted lower shelves, showing off her ruffled panties. When she saw the girls she stopped dusting and turned toward them.

“Afternoon, ladies.” Kathleen curtsied. “May I fetch you some refreshments?”

“No thanks, Mom,” Abigail said, her unlit cigarette bouncing up and down. “Heather and I are meeting up with Kirk and Todd before we go to the Saturday service at church.”

“Your father and I will be in attendance as well. We’re excited to see Rose Thorne perform. Are you sure there isn’t anything I can get you? Do you need anything washed?”

“No. See you tonight, Mom.”

As the exited the house Heather said, “I’m really sorry about what I did to your mom.”

Abigail lit her cigarette. “I’m not.” A thick ball of smoke escaped her mouth and floated up her face. “I kind of like seeing her cleaning the house in a maid’s uniform.”

Todd and Kirk answered the door together when the girls arrived. They were dressed like the night before—tight, sleek dress shirts and even tighter pants, faces and hair groomed to perfection—but today Todd had his arm around Kirk's shoulder They greeted the girls with air kisses and then fawned over their outfits. They wanted to know what had happened to Heather’s body, but the girls played coy. Eventually they stopped asking.

The living room had been redecorated. Potted plants lined the table next to the large picture window. The window sported new curtains and a triptych of colorful tulips hung on the wall behind the couch. The aroma of Axe body spray hung in the air.

Heather mentally sought out Byron and sensed him rising up the stairs that led to the basement. Her connection to him had grown in strength since that morning, but it was still weaker than her link to either Kirk or Todd.

“I hope you two weren’t thinking of leaving without saying goodbye,” Byron said as he appeared at the top of the stairs. His hair was was swept back in a high pompadour and he wore tight cutoffs and a light blue mesh t-shirt.

“Well, we wouldn’t want to interrupt your Dancing with the Stars binge session,” Todd said with a hand on his hip.

“I’m done with season one and I’m taking a break before starting season two.” Byron sashayed his way to Kirk and then gave him a hug followed by a peck on the cheek. “Now don’t you two do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“That’s not very limiting,” Kirk said as he slapped Byron on the butt.

Byron gave Todd a hug and peck before running back downstairs. When Todd reached for Abigail’s hand she pulled away.

“Should I be jealous?”

Todd scoffed as he waggled his finger between the girls. “Should I be jealous?”

Abigail kissed Heather for several seconds, making a show that tongue was involved. “You should totally be jealous. No one kisses like my girl here.”

Todd took a hold of Kirk’s hand. “I guess you’ll have to be my date tonight. I’ve been replaced by a ravishing Goth.”

Heather sat in the front with Abigail while the guys sat together in the backseat. It suited her just fine. She still liked Kirk a lot, but there was a level of trust that she had with Abigail that she doubted that any man would be able to obtain. Tonight she was full of anxiety and worry and wasn’t in the mood to be someone’s “date”. She knew that she didn’t have to play a role with Abigail and that she’d be there when she needed her, no questions asked. Plus, she had to admit, the guys looked kind of cute together.

They were all very familiar with tattoo parlor, Adorn, although none of them had ever been inside its doors. It was located a couple blocks west of Grace church and Heather had driven past it nearly everyday for the last six months. Anyone who drove past the store even once would remember it. The sign on its roof was over fifteen feet tall and in shape of a heavily tattooed woman wearing a string bikini and striking a sexy pose.

When they entered the store Heather was hit with a scent that reminded her of the bathroom at her parent’s house after her mother had just finished cleaning it. The front section of the store was barely large enough for the four of them to walk around comfortably. Most of the real estate was taken up with all manner of glass cases containing a wide assortment of body jewelry. The walls were covered with colorful artwork of dragons, hearts, vines, Celtic patterns, devils, busty women and more.

A woman with a profusion of facial piercings and tattoos covering nearly every bit of visible skin stood near the cash register with a bottle of Windex in her hand. “Welcome to Adorn. I’m Vivian. Are you buying, browsing or looking to get some work done?” Her voice sounded like she smoked several packs of cigarettes a day and chased her whiskey with more whiskey.

“We want tattoos,” Kirk said as he took a hold of Todd’s arm. He pointed over at Abigail. “She wants her nipples pierced.”

“Thanks Kirk,” Abigail's face was turning red. “I’ll take it from here.”

Vivian walked over to the archway on the far side of the store, pulled back the heavy curtain and yelled, “You’ve got a live one and she’s a cutie!” She turned back to Abigail. “Brant will be out in a moment.”

“Thanks.”

“Anything for you, Elvira?”

“It’s Heather and I’m with cutie.” She slipped her arm through Abigail’s.

“You’ve got good taste.” Vivian looked Heather up and down, her eyes settling on her cleavage. “You both do.”

It was Heather’s turn to go red in the face.

Vivian chuckled and then turned her attention to the guys. “Do you two have something particular in mind? In addition to what’s on the walls. There are examples of my work in these books.” She patted a stack of binders sitting on the counter next to the cash register. “I can also create something new based on your own drawings or descriptions.”

Less than a minute later a man in his forties stepped through the curtain. Brant wasn’t overly large, but he looked tough, like if you hit him with a baseball bat all you’d accomplish is breaking your bat and possibly annoying him. Vivian introduced them and then Abigail told him what she wanted done. Brant’s eyes were glued to Heather’s chest for most of the conversation. Once Abigail paid for the procedure Brant led her into the back room. Heather was allowed to come along for moral support.

The backroom was larger than the front room. There were shelves holding various equipment and bottles of ink. Two large chairs that reminded her of the chairs in a dentist office were separated by a curtain that hung from the ceiling on rollers. Next to each chair was a tray of machinery and a stool on wheels.

Once Abigail lost her top Brant stopped stealing glances at Heather’s chest, which was a happy relief for her. She wasn’t used to having so much attention. In the past it was always Abigail that caught all the male glances. She knew that she was pretty, but she had gone out of her way to avoid the male gaze by hiding in unflattering clothing that covered her whole body. Abigail seemed happy that Brant was paying more attention to her now.

Heather sat on a stool on the opposite side of Brant, holding Abigail’s hand while he fiddled his needles, careful to avoid contact with the gold cross that lay between her breasts. Brant had applied a topical anesthetic to Abigail’s nipples and they were waiting for them to go numb.

Abigail’s eyes went wide when she saw Brant pick up a needle. “You wouldn’t happen to know anyone named Starshine, would you?” There was a slight quiver in her voice.

“My parents were hippies and I spent the first eight years of my life growing up in a commune. Yeah, I knew a few women named Starshine. Also some Sunshines, Moonbeams and Starlights.”

“Any of them into witchcraft?”

Brant scowled as he studied her face. After a few seconds he said, ”I’ve heard of a Starshine who’s into some real serious occult shit. Never met her and never want to.”

“Do you know how to contact her?”

“Listen, you seem like a nice kid. If you want to stay that way, stay far away from that witch. From what I hear she likes taking cute young things like you and doing some truly twisted shit to them. Once she’s done, those girls aren’t sweet or innocent. They ain’t even human no more from what I’ve heard.”

“I bet you say that to all the girls.”

“Just telling you what I’ve heard. No, I don’t know how to contact that her. Hell, I don’t even know if she really exists when it comes down to it.”

Abigail glanced over at Heather. “I’ve never met her, but I know someone who has.”

Brant fingered the cross that hung around Abigail’s neck. “For your friend’s sake you better pray that she’s been lying to you.” He looked up at Heather. “Or that my friends have been lying to me.”

Todd and Kirk ended up getting small, matching rainbow hearts tattooed on the insides of their wrists, Todd’s on his right wrist and Kirk’s on his left. Abigail had Brant pierce her left eyebrow and right nostril in addition to her nipples. She grew jealous of Heather when she found out that she had to wear basic studs until the piercings healed. Since Heather’s nipples had been pierced magically she was able to adorn them with whatever jewelry she desired. Heather bought a pair of small hoops her nipples and a silver spider for her belly button.

They arrived at the church twenty minutes before the start of the service. A lazy line of around fifty people stretched from the doors to the main church building, across the lawn and back towards the the portable buildings. Heather recognized many of the people in the line from the previous night at the Golden Dragon restaurant. They’d obviously come to hear Jennifer sing again.

She wondered why the doors to the church were closed. They were normally wide open for most of the day on Saturday. It was also the first time they’d ever been a line to get inside the church.

A group of about 30 people mingled under the large oak tree, near the front of the church. They were the regular Saturday service attendees. There were three types that attend the normal Saturday service; the devotees--like Heather--who attended both the Saturday and the Sunday service, the unlucky ones who worked on Sunday, and the lazies who didn’t like waking up early on Sunday morning.

Even without looking at their faces Heather could tell the two groups apart, just by their clothes. The Golden Dragon crowd were dressed like they were going to a rock concert while the church men were dressed like they’d just returned from a job interview and church ladies from a tea party with the queen.

A third group, comprised of a dozen smokers from both groups, huddled together at the far end of the parking lot.

As they exited the car Heather focused on her connection to Mr Whiskers. She then tried to sense any others in the area. At first she felt the connection to Todd and Kirk and then she felt a new link coming from somewhere within the group of church regulars. She zeroed in on the source and saw Nora standing next to her parents. She felt another link inside the church. It made her wonder why she didn’t feel one coming from Abigail. Before she could pursue that line of thinking she was inundated with scores of lesser links, coming from nearly everyone outside the church. She tried to make sense of them, but it was a confusing jumble, like trying to listen to a hundred simultaneous conversations. It made her head spin.

She noticed a few of the church regulars point and stare at her. When it came to being a curiosity, a pink haired punk and a couple of pretty boys holding hands had nothing on her. It was probably the first time most of church regulars had ever seen anyone dressed like a Goth in real life. They probably thought that she was a part of the Golden Dragon crowd. If they realized it was Heather Drake under all of that black clothing and makeup they’d probably pass out from the shock.

Nora spotted them and then hurried over to greet them. After a round of hugs, Kirk and Todd headed over to the Golden Dragon crowd and the three girls snuck away to the smoking area.

“My god girl, what have you been up to and why didn’t you invite me along?” Nora said to Heather as they crossed the parking lot.

“You mean these?” Heather gestured to her boobs.

“Yes those! And the lips and the tattoos.”

“Heather’s a witch,” Abigail said. “She’s been using her powers to give everyone a magical makeover. Don’t you remember being seven inches shorter and forty pounds heavier less than 12 hours ago?”

“Fine, don’t tell me,” Nora said as she accepted a cigarette from Heather.

“Is Janet here?” Heather noticed that Nora looked different too. At first she wasn’t sure what had changed; she was still getting used to her new look.

“Yeah, she’s inside helping Pastor Jonathan with something.”

When Nora leaned forward to light Abigail’s cigarette, Heather realized what had changed. Her bust had grown. Last night her boobs were tiny kiwis and today they were the size of small lemons.

“Is Pastor William back?” Abigail said.

“No, not yet. He’s supposed to be here for tomorrow’s service though.” Nora motioned for the girls to follow her as she moved away from the other smokers. “Have you heard about Zoe?” She looked like she had a juicy piece of gossip.

“No, what’s going on?” Abigail asked, eager to get in on the dirt.

“She got arrested last night.” Nora leaned in close and whispered, “For prostitution and possession of an illegal substance.” She leaned back and in a louder voice said. “Of course it’s a total mistake on the police’s part. Laurie is there with her dad, trying to get Zoe out of jail. He’s a lawyer, you know.”

“Holy shit!” Abigail said as she looked over at Heather.

Heather felt like puking. She’d turned Zoe into a hooker and a drug addict? She’d only meant for her to be able to connect with the type of girl who got help from the shelter, not turn her into one. Was she contagious now like Kathleen? Was everyone who came into contact with her going to start selling their bodies to support their drug habit?

“He’s over there with Todd and Kirk,” Nora said.

Heather realized that she’d missed part of the conversation. She looked to where Nora was pointing. Michael, Laurie's fiance, was giving Kirk a very friendly hug. It looked like he’d had his hair styled since last night. He looked very dapper.

It made Heather wonder if he was going to shave his chest and start watching Dancing with the Stars like Byron. Was Nora going to make people she came into contact with become professional dancers? Were the people who encountered Hanna going to run away to the circus to become clowns? She scanned the crowd of Golden Dragon people. She noticed a clique of girls dressed in bright, colorful outfits. One of them was juggling three water bottles, another was blowing up balloon animals and handing them out.

Another thing she noticed was the number of men openly staring at her tits, quite a few of whom were not only married, but standing next to their wives. At first she chastised herself for not wearing a jacket to cover herself up, but then she got pissed. They were just boobs. Half of the world had them. What was the big deal? Why were women expected to hide their bodies? It was men who had the problem. They were the ones who couldn’t control their own libidos. If they wanted to gawk at tits she could help them out by giving them a pair of their own to leer at whenever they pleased.

“You’re pretty silent,” Abigail said as she squeezed Heather’s hand. “You okay?”

“Everything’s fine.” Heather lifted Mr Whiskers out of her purse and set him on her shoulder.

“Do you think that’s wise?”

“He’ll behave himself,” Heather said as she stroked his fur. “Won’t you, baby?”

A cheer erupted from the group of people lined up outside the church doors. Heather turned to see Pastor Jonathan stepping through the doors. In a loud voice he said, “Can I get everyone’s attention?” He waited for a few seconds for most of the conversations to die. “Everyone is welcome inside at this time. Please enter the church in an orderly fashion. There is plenty of seating for everyone so there is no reason to hurry.” He proceeded to shake hands and introduce himself to every newcomer.

As they finished their cigarettes Abigail’s parents arrived. Heather felt Kathleen approach long before she saw the tan Mercedes pull into the parking lot. Once they parked Gordon ran around the car to open the door for his wife. She’d abandoned the maid’s outfit and wore a sky blue, Chanel dress and heels. Both she and her husband were smoking. Heather watched her release a large plume of smoke into the air, watched it as it drifted over toward Pastor Jonathan, watched him wave it away and then resume greeting all of the new faces. If Heather was correct about the effects of Kathleen’s smoke, the percentage of smokers at the church would be going up very soon.

Heather started shaking as she made her way to the church entrance, a strange anxiety filling her belly. When she hit the stairs she stumbled, her feeling like rubber. She screamed once she crossed the threshold into the church itself.

“Are you okay?” Pastor Jonathan asked as he rushed to her side.

“I’m fine. My cat is a little nervous is all.” Heather tried to gently pry him from her shoulder without ripping chunks out of her skin and dress.

“Perhaps it would be best if you left the cat in your car,” he said as he stuck out his hand. “Welcome to Grace Church.”

“Thanks,” Heather said and then turned away from him before he realized who she was, grateful that she didn’t have to deal with his shock at her appearance along with everything else.

She moved off to the side of the main hall to let people pass. Mr Whiskers purred into her ear and she was blinded by a intense white light emanating from the church sanctuary.

“Don’t listen to him.” Abigail shoved her hand between Heather and the cat.

Mr Whiskers let out a wicked hiss.

“It’s alright. He’s not tempting me, he’s showing me something.” Heather looked at Nora who was standing a few feet away. She was covered in a glowing aura the color of a tangerine. As people walked past her the color adhered to them marking their clothes or skin with a similar shade of orange, but not nearly as vibrant or alive as the color surrounding Nora.

Orange wasn’t the only color coating the people entering the church. There were blues, purples, blacks, pinks and yellows. Some people were predominantly one color while others looked like walking kaleidoscopes. There were a couple church women who were practically dripping in blue. Several men who’d been hanging around Kirk were bathed in purple. The people from the Golden Dragon were a random mixture of black, purple, yellow, orange and pink. There were some without colors on them, but they were in the minority.

“You two coming?” Nora said eventually.

Heather watched Abigail as she neared Nora. The strange aura didn’t mark Abigail in the same way as it did the others. Instead of adhering to her, it seemed to be absorbed into her body. Heather felt a link to every person who was marked with a color, but she still didn’t feel a magical connection to her best friend.

“Why don’t you two go ahead. I’m going to wait out here for a little longer,” Heather said.

“Are you sure?” Abigail asked.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be in a little bit.”

As Abigail entered the main sanctuary, Heather walked off toward the church office. Mr Whiskers began to relax now that she wasn’t moving toward the sanctuary itself. After a minute he retracted his claws to her great relief. She was happy for the excuse, the thought of entering the sanctuary made her feel like cowering in a corner. The white light emanating from the church terrified her. If she did attempt to go into the sanctuary she was going to put Mr Whiskers back into her purse. Her shoulder still throbbed painfully.

She wandered down the wide hall that surrounded the main sanctuary, keeping to the far side, looking into the doors along the outer wall to keep herself entertained while occasionally glancing at the blinding white light pouring out of the sanctuary’s many entrances. She passed by the main office, the church library and the music room. Eventually she hit a dead end so she turned around and walked the other way. By the time she reached her starting point Pastor Jonathan was shaking hands with the last of the newcomers.

When Heather tried to enter the sanctuary as the service started Mr Whiskers leapt out of her bag and bolted to the far wall. No amount of calling would get him to come to her. She shielded her eyes as she looked through the sanctuary doors. The light radiated from the walls and the pews and every other surface, but was especially intense in the center of the large stage where the pulpit stood.

As her eyes adjusted she could make out the shapes of people. The room was about a quarter full; between the balcony and the main floor, the church could hold over 500 people. She found Nora’s orange glow sitting in one of pews toward the back. She waved at the orange mass. A vague shape next to her rose and then hurried over. As it neared its shape coalesced into a spiky haired beauty.

“What’s wrong?” Abigail said as she stepped into the hall.

“I can’t go in.”

Abigail looked at her, puzzled. “Why not?”

“I’m afraid that I’ll be incinerated if I go in there.”

“You’ve been in the church literally thousands of times.”

“Not like this. Not how I am now.”

It took some doing, but Heather was able to convince Abigail to go back inside without her. She hated being alone, but if things got too intense she wanted to be able to flee without having to explain her actions to someone.

Pastor Jonathan started the service with a prayer and Heather had to run to the bathroom. After emptying her stomach she tried to resume her position in the doorway, but Harold Painter, one of the church elders was reading a passage from the bible. She covered her ears, humming loudly to herself, trying to ignore the sensation of spiders crawling up her spine. Once Harold finished his reading, Heather was able to approach the doorway again, but was too afraid to step inside. Mr Whiskers watched her from the other side of the hall, his back arched and hair standing on end.

“I want to welcome all of the new faces to Grace church,” Pastor Jonathan said. “As many of you know, my name is Jonathan and I am the associate pastor. Pastor William, the head pastor, is away on vacation, but will be back tomorrow. I encourage those of you new to our church to return and listen to him speak. He will change your life. Now, I know that most of you are here to hear Jennifer, aka, Rose Thorne, sing. We’ll start with a song from her and the choir before starting tonight’s sermon. We’ll finish tonight with Rose singing again, so don’t any of you try and sneak out early.”

The choir strode out onto the stage as did the church band. They all wore white robes, which blended in with the blinding white light, making them look like disembodied heads floating above a pair of feet marching toward the choir bleachers. Jennifer broke away from the choir, walked to the front of the stage and then adjusted the height of one of the standing microphones.

Not counting Jennifer, the choir consisted of eleven women ranging in age from their late teens to early forties. The band had four members, two guys and two girls, all of them in their twenties: Steve played lead guitar, Tayla was on bass, Madison on drums and Dave at the keyboard.

Jennifer looked to the band, took a deep breath and then nodded. Tony clapped his sticks four times and then the rest of the band started playing. After a couple bars of music, she started singing, “To His Glory”. The band was talented and the choir filled out Jennifer’s sound. It was lovely and everyone seemed to be enjoying it.

Jennifer stopped singing when she reached the second chorus.

“I’m sorry,” she said into the microphone. “I feel like a phony singing that song. I wrote some new songs last night and I’d like to sing one of them for you now.” She turned and looked at the choir. “I slipped a song book into the back of each of your folders.” Addressing the band she said, “This is the song I sang to you during lunch. Follow along as best you can. It’s in G major.”

Jennifer pulled off her choir robe, revealing a pair of leather pants and a v-neck, Ramones t-shirt. Her cleavage jiggled impressively as she bent to pick up an electric guitar. Taking deep breath she launched into a heavy metal riff. The intro was intense and vibrant. Jets of black blasted from her mouth and pounded its way into the ears of all those in the church.

Madison and Tayla started playing along after the first couple of bars. Steve and Dave joined in with their band mates by time Jennifer reached the first chorus. A few members of the choir accompanied Jennifer on the second chorus. By the third chorus the entire choir was singing along and the strange, blinding light radiating from the sanctuary began to dim.

Jennifer’s vocal style reminded Heather of the lead singer of Evanescence, Amy Lee, but edgier. The song itself was a heavy metal rock ballad with intense guitar riffs and lyrics that spoke of things that go bump in the night and how good it felt to give yourself over to them.

The people who’d heard Jennifer sing the night before were clearly into the song, up on their feet, moving to the music. Quite a few of the church regulars looked upset. Mrs. Wilcox, the leader of the women’s bible study, and Mrs. Randall, the nursery coordinator, had their fingers in their ears.

As the song progressed the blackness that poured from Jennifer worked its ways into everyone’s ears. As it did, they started getting into the music. It even managed to slip past the fingers of Mrs. Wilcox and Mrs. Randall. By the time Jennifer was on the final chorus, they’d dropped their hands and were smiling.

When the song ended the church erupted in applause. A couple people started chanting “More, more, more”. When a few dozen others joined in Pastor Jonathan ran up on stage and whispered into Jennifer’s ear. She nodded and started singing another song. Everyone in the church cheered.

The light which had repulsed and blinded Heather earlier was now too dim to read a book by. Mr Whiskers brushed up against her leg. She picked him up and entered the sanctuary, taking a seat next to Nora and Abigail.

Less than a minute into the second song Nora left her seat, ran down to the space between the front row of seats and the stage and started dancing. Several others joined her before the song ended. By the time Jennifer was halfway through her third song the entire area in front of the stage was filled with dancers, most of them from the Golden Dragon group and all of them younger than 30. Those that stayed behind were on their feet and moving to the music.

What really surprised Heather was when she spotted people smoking inside the church. Both Kathleen and Gordon had lit cigarettes as did a couple of others. Even more surprising was that no one was trying to stop them. The most surprising thing was the color of Kathleen’s exhales. It wasn’t white like regular cigarette smoke, it was a deep, intoxicating blue.

Her smoke didn’t drift through the air and then disperse like regular cigarette smoke. It remained cohesive and moved with a purpose. She watched it break into tendrils and seek out members of the congregation, licking at their nostrils. She watched one tendril dance in front of Mrs. Tucker, the new church secretary. She fanned the air, a look of disgust on her face. The tendril dodged her hand and them slithered up her nostrils. The skin around her nose and mouth turned blue as she dropped her hand and breathed deeply, a smile spreading across her face.

Heather looked toward the stage and saw Nora dancing away, her bright orange glow piercing the eyes of the everyone around her. A mosh pit had formed off to the left of the stage. Both Kirk and Todd were in it, shirtless and gleaming in purple. As they slammed their bodies into the other moshers a bit of the purple clung to the other person, spreading over their skin. Michael looked like he’d taken a bath in prune juice.

Heather noticed Janet off to the side of the room, almost totally hidden in shadow. The only reason she’d noticed her was that her lower abdomen pulsated with a hellish red. The color didn’t leak onto others, nor did Heather feel a connection to her.

At the start of the third song Nora climbed up onto the stage and began dancing next to Jennifer. Initially she danced gracefully like a ballerina, full of poise, making delicate movements and graceful leaps. It hardly went with the dark, passionate rock song that Jennifer and the choir were singing.

She remembered back to the previous night when she’d used magic on Nora. She’d wanted her to be good at dancing in general, but in the back of her mind she’d been thinking about the ballet. Her new look did evoke the image of a ballerina: tall, slender and graceful.

Over the course of the song, Nora’s movements changed, as did her look. Instead of twirling she started thrashing. Instead of leaping gracefully she hopped up and down vigorously. Her movements were jerky, forceful, passionate and intense. At a few points she looked like she might be having a seizure. It worked well for the song.

Her looks changed, too. It was subtle, but her hair was darkening at the roots and her figure was slowly filling out. The hair at the top of her head continued to darken to a deep amber and then faded down its length, transitioning to a rich marmalade at her jaw line and then into a pretty marigold near her breasts. When Jennifer finished her fourth song, Nora had lost her lithe ballerina look and gained the curves of a college cheerleader.

“Do you notice anything different about Nora?” Heather asked Abigail between songs.

“No.” Abigail glared at Mr Whiskers. “Did you two do something to her?”

“We’re not doing anything.” Heather shrugged. “Not that I know of, at least.”

Heather wondered if Nora was going to change every time she danced to new style of music. What would she end up looking like if she tried swing dancing or ballroom? If she danced to ethnic music would her race change? It could be interesting to find out.

It made her wonder what was happening with her siblings. How were they changing? Why weren’t they answering the phone? She was a mixture of worry, rage, hornyness and fear. She feared her reunion with Pastor William. Would he blame her for everything? Would he be able to set things right? She worried that he wouldn’t be able fix the mess and that made her worry even more for her siblings, her best friend and her parents. That, in turn, made her furious with her older sister, Bethany. She was also horny as hell. Her time in the shower with Abigail had made her randy as fuck.

The warring emotions made her feel like she was going to explode. As if sensing her distress Mr Whiskers purred into her ear, giving her ideas on how she could change a few people in the church. When she refused, he changed tactics and told her how she could manipulate the colors flowing from Kathleen and Nora.

Telling herself that he was giving her a lesson in her magic, she decided to give it a try. She concentrated on the blue tendrils flowing from Katherine, willing them to pull away from the mouths and noses of those in the church. To her joy, they did as she willed. They hovered in the air above the heads of the church goers. She then focused on them coming together and forming one giant azure tentacle. With a wicked glee she sent the column toward Daisy Howard, a brunette high shcool girl who’d been attending the church with her parents for as long as Heather could remember.

If a single strand of blue magic could make Mrs. Tucker acclimate to secondhand smoke, she wondered what a full blast would do to sweet, mousy Daisy. The girl wore a pretty floral dress and looked like wholesomeness personified. At the moment she was pinching her nose close, trying to avoid the stink of cigarette smoke filling the air.

Heather enveloped Daisy’s head with the column of Kathleen's smoke, obscuring her face in a cloud of blue. Slowly, Daisy released her nose. A smile formed on her face as she breathed in the smoke infused air. Heather kept her bathed in blue until she started staring at Faith Marshall, a college coed who was smoking twenty feet away. Daisy’s eyes followed Faith’s cigarette as she brought it to her mouth to take a drag and then watched with fascination as she exhaled a long cone of smoke.

Daisy looked over at her parents, who were standing behind her, oblivious to the growing need developing within their pride and joy, and then quietly slipped away. She walked over to Faith and then pointed to her long, white cigarette. Faith smiled as she pulled out a pack and handed it to her. Daisy’s father noticed the exchange and rushed over, smacking the pack from his daughter’s hand.

While Mr. Howard lectured his daughter, Heather shifted the blue tentacle over to Daisy’s mom. After a good minute of exposure, Mrs. Howard walked over to Kathleen and borrowed cigarette and a light. She took a couple of small puffs and then waltzed over to her husband and daughter. Whatever she said to her husband made him wince, the shock on his face making it look liked he’d been kicked where it hurt. Mrs. Howard passed the cigarette to her daughter and then led her toward the front of the church where Nora was dancing. They started dancing together as they shared their first cigarette.

During the next song Nora invited Daisy and the Rivera sisters onto the stage. As she led them up the stairs, each girl was bathed in the tangerine glow flowing around Nora. Heather made sure that Daisy got an extra large dose. Like Nora earlier, Daisy changed. Her breasts blossomed from delicate peaches to firm grapefruits while her ass swelled, giving her delectable curves. Unlike Nora, her hair lightened, gradually fading into an alluring bluish-silver. Her dance moves improved drastically and soon mirrored Nora’s.

Heather shifted her focused onto Maria and Teresa Rivera. Their long dark hair exploded into tight curls as it changed color, looking like curly gold lion manes flowing down their backs. Their new hairstyles looked especially exotic in combination with their light caramel skin tone. Their figures improved along with their dance moves and after a few minutes all four were dancing as a unit. So that the squad wouldn’t be spit up when Nora and Daisy took a cigarette break, Heather sent a blue cloud their way.

It was hard to resist using her magic on someone directly. If her own body didn’t change every time she used her magic she might have submitted to the temptation. Unfortunately, she had no idea what might change next. If it was something obvious, like a facial tattoo, Abigail would know that she’d been a bad girl again.

She didn’t mess with anyone else at church that night and instead let the magical colors do their own thing. She felt a little guilty about what she’d done to Daisy and her mom, but it was important that she learn more about her magic. If she couldn’t get Starshine to teach her, she was going to have to do it herself. Besides, like everyone in the church tonight, they were going to change eventually. The magic spilling off of Kirk, Jennifer, Todd, Nora and Kathleen was at work on them all. She’d just sped things up a little. She had to admit that it was terribly erotic watching sweet wholesome Daisy bump and grind away on stage while her parents cheered her on.

“That’s it for the show tonight,” Pastor Jonathan said after Jennifer had sung for an hour. His ears oozed black, blue dribbled down his chin and his bare chest was covered in purple. “Remember, Rose Thorne and the Legion will be performing an encore performance right here tomorrow morning. If you thought tonight’s show was wild, just wait until tomorrow. Be sure to invite all of your friends. Goodnight and drive safe.”

Heather looked around the sanctuary for Janet, hoping to talk to her about her husband, but she was nowhere to be seen. She ran to the church entrance to try to catch her on the way out.

Everyone leaving the church was a mix of colors. Mrs. Eversole and her two daughters, Samantha and Fiona, had equal parts blue, orange and black covering their faces. While her husband and eldest son, Dylan, were predominantly purple and black with touches of blue. Many other families fared similarly, although Heather noticed that, while purple seemed to favor the men, there were some women who also sported the color, most notably Olivia, Pastor Jonathan's fiancée, and Carol, the church accountant. They dripped with purple and orange as they exited the church together, giggling like school girls.

Once most of the people had left the church Jennifer came out front. She’d stayed in the back with the band, afraid of being mobbed by fans if she came out earlier. The rest of the night’s performer--the band, the choir, Nora and the other three dancers--were with her. Everyone congratulated them on their performances, which Jennifer took in stride like it happened all the time.

Abigail passed a pack of cigarettes around. Nora and the rest of her dance troupe each took one, but no one in the band or the choir. The three new smokers took shallow puffs, but inhaled without noticeable discomfort.

“Was Janet back there with you guys?” Heather asked. “I didn’t see her leave.”

“She said that she was going to go home early,” Tayla said. “She found out that Pastor William won’t be getting in until very late tonight and she wanted to take a nap so she’d be rested up when he got home.”

“I’m totally wound up from performing and want to do something,” Jennifer said. “Anyone want to go out and find somewhere to continue the party?”

“Want to go back to the Golden Dragon?” Abigail said.

“I want to see Victoria and Becky,” Nora said.

“I don’t know where they live now, do you?”

“No, but we know where they work,” Nora said with a mischievous smile.

“We can’t get in there, it’s 21 and over.”

“Victoria and Becky are only 19,” Madison said.

“According to their website you only have to be 18 to dance there. You have to be 21 to serve alcohol or be a customer,” Nora said. “Anyway, we don’t want to go in. We just want to talk to them.”

“I’m not in a strip club mood,” Daisy said. “I want to listen to some more music.”

“I want to keep dancing,” Theresa said.

While everyone decided what they wanted to do, Heather made another call to Donna. When that was unsuccessful she called Pastor William’s house. She got the answering machine again. This time she left a message asking him to call her as soon as he was able.

Todd, Kirk, Michael and a couple other guys from the mosh pit decided to go to Woody’s Hidey Hole, an alcohol free club in Cheyenne which, according to Nora, was also a gay hookup spot. The Rivera girls and several ladies from the choir also wanted to dance, but wanted a place where the guys might actually pay attention to them. Heather suggested Club Fascination. Daisy, Tayla and Steve opted for The Underground where BloodFeud, a local metal band, was playing.

Nora, Jennifer, Dave, Madison and the remaining members of the choir piled into a van and headed off to Cheyenne to see Vicky and Rebecca . Heather and Abigail followed in a separate car.

“Did you notice anything strange happening in the church tonight?” Heather asked as they drove out of the church parking lot.

“Jonathan skipped the sermon and let Jennifer sing all night,” Abigail said. “That was a first.”

“And the smoking? Didn’t you think it was strange that everyone was smoking and no one seemed to care? Or what about all the new smokers, like Daisy, Maria and Teresa. Speaking of which, did you notice anything different about them?”

“Oh yeah, now that you mention it, they look different now. So does Nora. I wonder why I didn’t notice that before.”

“I was right about my magic still making changes on people and it’s doing more than that. It’s totally contagious. I bet that everyone in there tonight will be smokers by tomorrow morning. Half the men thrashing about in the Mosh pit will probably turn gay. I think that it’s going to make some of the women gay, too.”

“Pastor William is going to have a huge mess to clean up tomorrow,” Abigail said.

Heather sighed. “Yeah, I hope he doesn’t get too pissed at me.” She remembered Janet’s glowing belly. She was really beginning to dread his return.

“Well, we’ll face that together tomorrow,” Abigail said. “Tonight, it’s party time!”

Heather's story - chapter 14