Inveterate Womanizer

"Thanks, babe. That's always how I'd dreamed it could be."

"I have no doubt." Carla walked slowly back toward him. "She's so much better than one of those phony gym-bunnies, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Definitely."

"Can you imagine," Carla continued, "what life is like for one of those pathetic wannabes? Trying so hard to get noticed. Dressing ten years younger than they actually are. Fighting the sags and bulges of laziness and over-indulgence by pouring themselves into tight-fitting designer outfits. Part of them wishing they had the patience to put in the time to improve their body, part of them hoping that their fleeting good looks will provide them a few years of comfort before they are cast aside." Carla waved her wand around Todd's head and softly spoke the spell, nearly vibrating with pleasure: she had described the life of the woman Todd was becoming before her -- and his -- eyes. She made sure the transformation was long, so Todd could feel his strength, built up through years of discipline and hard work, slowly drain out of his body. Muscle bulges vanished, replaced by patches of wobbly subcutaneous fat. Dull, shoulder length hair with uneven bangs framed his face, which had softened into that of moderately pretty woman ten years past her prime.

Once Roy had become 100% female, the height reduction started. Inch by inch his new weak flabby body grew smaller. He could feel it happen, feel his old life fading out of existence. He stood paralyzed, the realization that he shared the same fate as his friend whose transformation moments earlier seemed like a godsend. Even after the temporary paralysis of the change was over, he remained completely still. If he moved, it would be too real.

Carla licked her lips in delight. This was more of a success than she had hoped. Roy, once happily married, was now a short freakishly musclebound woman. Todd, forever having to live with the guilt of giving in to his animal instincts with just a nudge, had become a prime example of the women to whom he'd never give a second look.

Todd finally choked out one word. "Why?"

"Same reason that you just fucked your best friend in the ass," sneered Carla. "Because I can." She turned and walked out of the showers, returning to the steam room in the women's lockers where she got herself off several times, reliving her sweet victory.

* * * * * * * *

Mariel was breathless when she arrived at Lena's shop. It had been several days since her rite of passage and Lena suggested that she take a few days off, relax, and let it all sink in. School was on spring break, so she gratefully accepted the time to commune with her magic. It felt like a glowing ball of energy deep inside her. She walked around town, focusing on the sights and sounds. Every so often she'd concentrate and perform the mental exercise of visualizing her magic in her surroundings. Out in the world, she once again saw the colors and textures she had experienced with Lena, but now they seemed to dance and mingle with other energy. It was beyond beautiful and it made her happy to be alive.

Mariel opened the door to the store, walked in, threw her arms out wide and spun around, declaring, "Oh, Lena! It's everywhere! Magic is EVERYwhere!" The customer Lena had been helping looked up, eyeing Mariel like she was a crazy woman. Lena barely suppressed a laugh.

Mariel blushed, but the smile never left her face. She bustled off to the backroom to resume her regular duties, humming and laughing to herself at nothing in particular. A few minutes later, Lena walked into the back room.

"Feeling good, eh?"

"Oh, Lena. You can't imagine! Well, of course, you can imagine, but still. What a wonderful magical world it is! It's everywhere. Literally everywhere! I wish everyone could see what we see -- the world would be a much happier place."

Lena thought back to when she had her rite of passage. She was much younger than Mariel, and as a late teenager she was much less easily impressed by anything. For her, the wonder of magic and life and love grew slowly.

For Mariel, it hit her like a ton of glittering, feather-soft bricks.

"I agree, hon, but don't get carried away. Magic is always there but it mustn't be a distraction. It's part of your life, now more than ever, but it's not your whole life."

Mariel rushed over and hugged Lena. "Yes, thank you! I'll remember that." Suddenly, Mariel stiffened and broke the embrace with Lena. "Oh, no! Now that I've had my rite of passage, does this mean you won't be my teacher anymore?"

A wistful smile crossed Lena's lips. "We will never be teacher and apprentice again, Mariel. That time has passed." Tears welled up in Mariel's eyes. "But I am your friend forever. We will teach each other now." Mariel looked confused. What could she possibly teach Lena? "Every witch expresses their gift differently. Some create art or music that uplifts and excites. Others cook foods that fuel passion and achievement. Many are teachers, who imbue their lessons with subtle magic to help their students learn and understand. Some even create jewelry. You will always be welcome to continue to work here, to learn more of what I do with my craft, but I urge you to follow what calls to you. You'll learn and share it with me. I'll continue to share with you."

Mariel was relieved to hear this. She loved Lena and wanted to continue to share their special bond. But she had never seen herself as a jeweler for the rest of her life. Having the freedom to pursue what she wanted without losing her relationship with Lena was a perfect combination. As she did many times before, she pulled Lena in for another long hug.

"May I ask you something?"

"Always," replied Lena.

"You talked about the different paths that other witches haver taken. Do you know many?"

"Believe it or not, you are the first one I've met since my own mother passed. She told me about others. She said there are many witches -- men and women -- scattered all over the world. They tend not to advertise their presence, but she said that when you are near one, you could feel it."

Mariel closed her eyes. "I see what you mean. I feel your energy. It's different than mine, but unmistakable now that I know what I'm looking for."

"When we first met, your gift had not been awakened, so I couldn't tell you were like me. As your powers have matured, I could feel you more and more. In theory, if another witch was near, we'd both feel them."

Mariel thought for a moment, then said, "Isn't it funny? What were the odds that you'd become one of my housekeeping clients? I never would have had the ... incident," they both shuddered thinking of Mariel's ordeal, "if I wasn't working for you. And if I didn't have the incident, you would have never recognized my power."

"I'm sure that was no coincidence." Mariel gave her a quizzical look. "You saw it yourself. Magic has rhythms and currents. They don't just flow through the people and things around you, they flow through time and space. People are brought together for a reason, sometimes despite seemingly insurmountable circumstances. Soulmates finding each other is an example of benevolent magic; no one cast a spell but magic itself rewards the good. That doesn't mean only good things happen -- far from it. But magic helps balance nature's tendency toward chaos." Lena thought about the circumstances under which she met and fell in love with Brad. "And sometimes magic brings people together to help right wrongs and heal wounds."

Mariel let this all sink in. She was intrigued. So many facets of magic to learn. She was happy she'd still have Lena to share and learn from, whether she was her teacher or not.

"Well, then, I will be skeptical of coincidences from now on. And now that I know what it feels like, I'll keep on the lookout for any other witches!"

* * * * * * * *

Carla was feeling restless. It had been a few days since she had amused herself with the gym rats. She basked in her conquest for a few days, relaxing and reliving the encounters, even masturbating to the memories a couple of times. But they were losing their luster. Her hunger for dominance was insatiable and it was time to find another plaything. Something special, she thought. The sex wasn't important -- she needed to crush someone, take everything from them. It wasn't murder per se; it was far worse. The victim was kidnapped, imprisoned, and forced to face a world that would never believe what happened. And if they left behind bewildered loved ones, it only added to the sadistic pleasure. She placed her wand in her bag and was already wet before she left her apartment.

She wandered aimlessly through town, sizing up the men who walked by. So many were ordinary. Who would miss them, she thought? Did any of them have a life that was worth obliterating, a psyche that was strong enough to comprehend the helplessness that was so randomly forced upon them? She stopped in front of a jewelry store. She'd passed it a few times since she arrived in this sleepy town and it always gave her pause. Something both attractive and foreboding about it. She couldn't put her finger on it. She was about to walk away when she saw a handsome man, smiling broadly and carrying a large bouquet of flowers enter the store. Ooooh, romance, she thought. Maybe she found a worthy target.

Brad had decided to take a long lunch and surprise Lena at her shop. He had stopped at the florist and picked up a large bouquet of assorted flowers. Lena loved gifts. The couple didn't want for anything, but when Brad took the time to surprise her with something special, it made her day.

"Hello, gorgeous!" he called out as he entered the store, then turned bright red when he saw that Lena was with a customer.

Lena laughed. "Take a seat, sir, I'll get to you next." Lena and her customer tittered knowingly and resumed their inspection of one of the beautiful handmade pieces in Lena's display case. Lena imbued all her jewelry with a tiny bit of magic. Usually it just gave the wearer a warm and contented feeling, subtle enough to not feel weird. Often, if she knew the buyer or the circumstances, she'd add some more specific magic: a bracelet to boost the confidence of a girl at her first prom, a gold chain to provide extra protection for a soldier heading overseas. In this case, the woman was buying a charm bracelet for a niece who'd just had a baby. As she boxed up the purchase, Lena visualized the young mother and child and the bracelet glowed almost imperceptibly for a second. Mother and child would have a healthy start.

When at last they were alone, Lena walked from behind the counter, and pointing to the flowers asked, "Are those for me?" Brad could have made a wisecrack but decided, wisely, to throw his arms around his wife and kiss her. "I'll take that as a yes," she said after they broke the kiss.

"Just thought I'd stop by and say hi."

"You're sweet. I'll get a vase." Lena walked to the backroom and returned with a vase full of water. She placed the flowers on the counter next to the register. Brad put his arm around her, and they looked at the flowers silently for a moment. There was no need for words. They felt each other's love and were content to let the feeling linger for a few minutes.

With a firm squeeze and kiss on the top of her head, Brad said, "I'm off. Back to work. See you tonight." He headed for the door. "It's date night, remember."

"Who do you think started date night, pal?" she replied. Date night was different for them. For most couples, it was a way to make sure they spent time together. Brad and Lena spent time together constantly, so date night was when they "forced" themselves to go out, try something new, and be seen by their friends and neighbors. Otherwise, they might never leave the house.

Brad opened the door and Lena scurried over and planted an exaggerated sloppy kiss on his mouth before smacking him on the butt. Beaming, Brad left the store and headed back to his car.

Carla saw the overt display of affection from the jewelry store owner. Black hair, nice body but nothing special. A real girl-next-door type. How unbearably dull. But, the blissed-out look on Brad's face as he left the jewelry store was unmistakable. So happy.

He's mine, Carla thought.

She touched the wand in her bag to make sure it was there and then set off behind Brad. She followed him to his parking space, then looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. Brad got in and started the car and was about to pull out when there was a tapping on his window. There was a young woman motioning for him to roll down his window, which he did.

"Hi, can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm sure you can," Carla replied. "I saw you leaving the jewelry store. Does the owner kiss everyone like that?"

Brad thought that was an odd question but decided to take it as awkward humor. "I hope not! She's my wife."

"That was some kiss," Carla continued.

"It always is," Brad quipped, thinking that this conversation was a little too weird and personal for his liking.

"Too bad it was your last," Carla sneered, as she quickly produced her wand, waved it over Brad's head and uttered her spell.

Lena had cast countless protection spells on Brad. He was safe from physical harm, disease, and any threat Lena could think of. In her lifetime, Lena had not encountered another witch (except for Mariel, now) and all the lore that was passed on from her mother spoke only of the goodness and decency of witches. So, it never dawned on her to cast a spell to protect Brad from another witch's bad magic.

Brad recognized the sensation immediately. During sex-play, Lena had changed his body many times for their amusement and pleasure so when his body began to change, muscle memory of a sort kicked in. The physical sensation did not panic him; the fact that is it was someone other than Lena doing it did. Carla mistook Brad's shocked look as terror, which fueled her cruel hunger.

"Ohhh, I love watching this," she whispered. "Ten seconds ago, you were a happy husband. In a minute, you'll be no one and that husband will be gone forever, erased." Brad's clothes dissolved as his body slowly reformed into feminine form. Carla reached in and grabbed Brad's breast, feeling it grow in her hand. She shuddered with pleasure. "Your wife seemed pretty but not very exciting. You're going to be much better than that." The breast in her hand had grown to almost comical proportions. Brad felt a slithering on his neck; a mane of long teased fire-engine red hair was cascading over his shoulders. A pair of six-inch "fuck-me" heels materialized on his feet but other than that he remained completely naked. "Sadly, there are no strip clubs in this dump, but if you drive for a while, I'm sure you'll find somewhere that'll take you in." Carla roughly squeezed his enormous breast, then grabbed his head and forced her tongue into his mouth. "I wish I could stay and play with you, but this isn't the best place for that. Enjoy your new life, slut." Carla turned and walked briskly away, never looking back.

Brad was reeling. Unlike Carla's other victims, Brad was well aware of the existence of magic, so the shock was not nearly as great. What was so hard for him to understand was how someone could be so depraved to do this to a total stranger. His thoughts wandered back to his first wife Cassandra and how murderously cruel she was. This was different. Murder just ended a life; this was a life-sentence for an innocent man.

Brad sat in the car for a minute, considering what to do next. Once the initial shock wore off, he picked up his phone from the seat next to him and started to call Lena, then thought better of it. If his voice matched his body, Lena might think someone was just spoofing his phone number. His absurdly long stripper fingernails made texting hard, but he was finally able to type out: "Meet behind the shop, NOW. Emergency."

Brad pulled away from the curb and drove slowly around the block to the backdoor of Lena's store. Driving in heels was a challenge but he managed to navigate the car without injury to himself or others. Lena had run out the back door and saw the car pull up but stopped short when she saw the driver. Brad rolled down the passenger window and said, "Lena, get in."

"Who the hell are you and why do you have Brad's car and phone?" Lena's protective instincts were at full throttle and there was going to be hell to pay.

"Honey, it's me. It's Brad."

"Bullshit."

"Ask me something only Brad would know."

Lena paused. What the hell was going on. Who is this woman? And why did she say she was Brad? For someone to say that to her implied that she wouldn't find anything unbelievable about a man turning into a woman, which meant that whoever this was might know she is as witch.

"What was the very first thing you did when I gave you the Lover's Gift?"

Brad smiled and held up one of his long red tresses. "I turned your hair red. Ironic, right?"

Lena's hand flew to her mouth. It WAS Brad. "Did Mariel do this to you?" Lena hissed. Since Mariel was the only other witch Lena knew of that was the most logical explanation, but she could not imagine why she'd do this.

"I don't think so. I didn't recognize her. She just walked up, waved a wand, cast a spell, and I became a woman. An over-the-top stripper from the looks of it."

"Why?"

"I have no idea!" Lena furrowed her brow and stared intently at Brad. After a moment, Brad interrupted her reverie. "Not to be impatient but I am currently a naked stripper sitting in a car on a public street. Could we do something about this?"

"I'm afraid to do anything until I can figure out what 'this' is."

"How about some clothes then?"

"Oh right. Sorry." Lena moved her finger and a long raincoat materialized around Brad. "Let's get you home." Lena waved her hand locking the doors to the store and walked around to the driver's side. Brad slid over and Lena took the wheel and started driving home. "Don't worry. We'll figure this out." On the inside, Lena wasn't quite as confident. If it wasn't Mariel, then there is another witch in town, and Lena had no idea how powerful she was. Could she undo the spell? She took a deep breath to calm herself. Don't jump to any conclusions before you investigate.

When they got home, Lena led Brad into the house. The heels would not come off his feet, so Lena steadied him as he tottered up the steps and into their living room. "Sit," Lena said. She was all business right now. She disappeared into the bedroom for a moment and returned with one of the ancient texts she kept in her closet. She thumbed quickly threw it until she found what she was looking for.

She then stood behind Brad and placed her hands on his shoulders. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"This is a procedure to determine the nature of a spell. I have to see what I am dealing with here." She began to chant softly; blurry indistinct images began to form in her mind. She chanted for a good five minutes then stopped.

"Well?"

"I don't know. I don't recognize any of it. It's completely foreign to me."

"Can you undo it?"

"Again, I don't know. I could try but it's risky if I don't know exactly what needs to be undone." She stared at Brad, hoping an idea would pop into her head. One did. "Wait. Let me try this again." She touched his shoulders again and started chanting again, more slowly this time. After a moment, she stopped and said, "Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me."

"What?" Brad wasn't sure if he should be delighted or alarmed.

"You said she used a wand, right?"

"Yes. Waved it over my head."

"I should have seen it immediately."

"Seen what?"

"I was afraid because I couldn't figure out the spell that this magic was more sophisticated and powerful than I had ever seen. The wand was a dead giveaway. Witches haven't used wands for centuries. They were used to help a witch focus their power as they learned but they are completely unnecessary. The witch who did this wasn't powerful and experienced. She was badly, and probably incompletely, trained."