I did my best to accept it, though I still couldn't quite believe. Miss Gold sat quietly while I knelt next to Katherine, allowing me to process her words in my own time, which was perhaps not the kindest, but surely the nicest thing she'd done for me.

"She'll be okay?" I asked for the tenth time.

"As long as she has you nearby." Miss Gold answered wearily yet again, "You will need to provide her with sustenance."

"I'll have to kiss her."

"That and more. She will require a great deal of your attention, and until you understand the extent of the effect you have on her, she should remain as close as possible."

"What do you mean until I understand? Don't you know?"

"I am not gean canagh, Thomas, and what I know about them I have learned from your father's victims. They are parasites who kill their prey with madness and despair. I have never heard of one that remained and cannot know what lies ahead, but I am reasonably certain that Katherine will not die unless withheld from you."

"Reasonably." I echoed. Nothing about her story was reasonable, but I sensed the truth behind it and lacked the strength to argue. "Who are you?" I asked, "You never gave me a straight answer."

Miss Gold turned to look once more out the small window over Penny's desk. "I am someone who belongs to a very old family and I have resources that have been passed on to me, some of which I have placed at your disposal. There may be more to offer, at my own discretion of course."

"Naturally," I said sarcastically. Her cold attention shifted back to me as she seemed to rise up in her seat.

"While I understand your need to assign blame, do not take my willingness to help as an admission of guilt," she answered, her voice low, almost menacing. "I did not make you what you are, and all I have done has been for your good. I am here because I am your godmother, and I am trying to provide you with a forward path."

I deflated with a sigh. "I just wish you had warned me before I had the chance to hurt anyone."

"What would that have accomplished? Would you have accepted my word? I cannot help you without your trust, Thomas, and we both know how our first meeting would have ended had I given you more truth than you were willing to hear."

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"Do not waste your sorry on me. If you feel the need to make amends do it by being cautious. Your body is a weapon, and you must learn to control it. Do not make me regret allowing you to live."

I gaped at her.

"It was always an option," she answered coolly, "I cannot permit another gean canagh to roam free, and if you had become such, I would have ended your life, godson or not." Her tone was matter of fact, but I couldn't picture the woman in front of me, as dispassionate as she was, stooping to the murder of an innocent child.

"Why not do it now if I'm so dangerous?"

"I do not believe you will intentionally use your ability to harm and that makes you quite different from your father and his kind. I am willing to do what must be done, but I have no desire to take your life without cause. If there is a chance for you to overcome, I will do what I can to guide you."

Looking down at my girlfriend's peacefully sleeping face, I decided that even if I didn't fully understand Miss Gold, I trusted that she was an ally.

"Can I move Katherine without hurting her?" I asked. I didn't like that she'd been lying on the floor the entire time, like she'd been discarded.

Miss Gold considered her for a moment, then regarded me quietly for several seconds before giving me an answer. "I had feared the worst and would not wish to give you false hope, but her body is stable and it is unlikely that you will do it further harm."

"What about her mind?" I asked, catching her implication.

"Her recovery will depend greatly upon her strength, and yours."

That wasn't the answer I had hoped for, but satisfied that she was in no immediate danger, I lifted Katherine's limp form and set her down on her bed. She stirred but didn't wake.

"How often will she need...?"

"That will be for you to discover, but even after weeks of withdrawal, your mother could be lucid for hours at a time, provided she received adequate care. You may find that your touch, perhaps even your presence, will slow Katherine's decline and limit the physical requirement for intimacy. I expect she may grow more resilient as her body and mind adapt. Now, if you will excuse me, this has complicated my agenda significantly and I must be about my business."

"That's it? You're just leaving?" I didn't want her to go. There was too much I didn't understand, and most of what I did I could accept only because Katherine needed me to.

"No one is ever ready to meet their fate, Thomas, but you are as capable as any. I will see you soon enough, and I will teach you how to make the tea. It is possible you no longer require it, but it will not hurt, and it will ease the girl's transition."

She sat up straight and took her handbag from Penny's desk. "I cannot stress enough the importance of control. I do not expect you to flagrantly abuse this power, but you can do much harm even without intent. It will be more difficult for you than you realize."

"Why? I'm used to keeping my head down." I'd always avoided large crowds, and physical contact was a rare exception. Katherine would have been the biggest risk, but it was too late to spare her.

"You are not simply attracting and addicting women with your chemistry, you are eliciting a pleasure response that will condition them over time. For the gean canagh, it is a lure that singles out and rewards its victims for compliance."

"Which means what?"

"There are many kinds of addiction. During your kiss, Katherine's pleasure centers were firing constantly and her body will not forget that even if her mind does. She needs your affection to live. She will desire more." She paused to let her words sink in. "You are a noble man, Thomas, but a man nonetheless, and I doubt even you can forever resist a horde of women throwing themselves at your feet without thought or hesitation."

"It sounds like the plot of a bad porno," I grimaced.

"That would make things much less complicated. Women will desire you without knowing why, and men will grow to fear and despise you over time. There are few absolutes with the Fae and you will doubtless discover degrees of nuance, but do not convince yourself that your choices have no consequence."

I cursed under my breath as Miss Gold continued.

"Katherine must remain with you and overtures of affection can only help her now, but that does not mean there is no further danger. She will want more than you should give, and while your saliva is potent, your seed would be an order of magnitude greater."

"My what?"

"Your seed, Thomas." She emphasized the word, "Ejaculate. Semen."

"I know what it means," I felt my face flushing.

"Then see that you manage yourself until you know more. I cannot say what it might do to her, but at best you would not be able to turn back from it, just as you cannot now withhold your kiss. Remain with her until she awakens and explain as much as she requires." She indicated Katherine's sleeping form with a nod. "I must go."

She stood and stepped briskly toward the door. "One final caution: the concentration will be greatest in your blood. At all costs, do not allow yourself to become injured. Open the Glim and read it, study the artifacts. You will see me before nightfall tomorrow and we can make further preparations."

She left, pulling the door shut behind her.

***

I couldn't sleep, partly out of fear that Penny might come back, but she never did. Katherine said she often spent the night away from the dorm, which was one of the benefits of having her as a roommate. Hours passed while phantom sparks danced and vanished in the dark, an oddly peaceful contrast to the thoughts I struggled to tame, but I sat in limbo, reviewing years of therapy and finding them utterly useless in the wake of impossible revelations.

If I believed Miss Gold, it wasn't her fault, and if I couldn't blame her for not fully anticipating the outcome, I couldn't blame myself. How could I possibly have seen it coming? My world had changed twice in as many days, and I couldn't keep the newest version of it in focus. I would need a lot more time to think and decided I would call in sick to my classes the next day. School no longer seemed important.

Then a thought occurred to me; maybe that degree would come in handy after all. I began school to study neurobiology and neurochemistry, how it could be influenced by pharmacology. I'd intended it for myself, but the same biology that plagued me for so many years was now affecting Katherine. Maybe science could shine a light where Miss Gold's fairy magic couldn't. Maybe it was time to apply my focus to something more important than grades.

The light of dawn brightened Katherine's doom sooner than I expected and she woke shortly after, groggy but otherwise normal.

"What are you doing here?" She asked when she noticed me sitting in her chair. She didn't seem surprised, and favored me with a tired smile.

"Good morning," I answered. "You don't remember anything from last night?"

"No, not much. Was I drinking? I'm a little dizzy."

"No. You asked me over because you were feeling down. When you fell asleep I thought it would be okay to stick around."

"You really stayed here all night in case I woke up with the feels? It's sweet, but you're lucky Rachel didn't catch you." She raised her arms in a luxurious stretch which reminded me how little her tank top covered, then let out a contented sigh. "I have to admit it's nice to see your face first thing in the morning." I must have been too obviously averting my eyes because she seemed to notice her state of dress for the first time. "Don't tell me you changed my clothes."

I held up both hands. "That was all you." My face burned and she giggled.

"I wouldn't be upset if you had." She hugged her knees and sealed the tease with a wink while Miss Gold's cautions echoed in my mind.

"Katherine," I said, trying and failing to ignore her blatant charms, "we need to talk."

"About what?" She asked as she slipped off the side of her bed and looked down, wiggling her toes. "You could have taken off my socks at least."

"Sorry, I just wanted to make you comfortable. How are you feeling?"

"Warm and a little light-headed, but overall, pretty good. Was I sick?" She leaned forward to pull off her socks. "You lost serious points if you were going for comfort, by the way."

"Sorry."

"Don't be, but next time the socks and jeans have to go." My expression must have echoed a fraction of what went through my mind. "Oh grow up, either tuck me in properly or wake me up so I can do it."

"Noted. Look, Kath, we really need to talk."

"Hug first." She took a step toward me.

"What?"

"There's no way I'm going to miss out on waking up to a hug, who knows when it'll happen again."

Probably sooner than you think, I thought. The idea was much less thrilling than I wished it could be, but Miss Gold had said Katherine was past the effects of my touch, so I drew her against my chest and squeezed. She leaned in, her arms around my middle, pressing her weight forward and pulling tight.

"You okay?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Mmm? Yeah, this feels nice. I could stay here 'till lunch." Then she disengaged abruptly, "But I have a day of school to make up and I feel like I slept in my clothes, which apparently I did."

"Kath, you might have to call in sick for a couple days."

She looked at me like I'd suggested she jump off the roof. "Not happening, I'm not ahead in all my classes like you are. I'll be perfectly fine after a shower." I normally loved how responsible she was. It didn't make her boring and predictable, it made her dependable.

"You really should..." I began.

"I really should clean up and get busy. I get my best work done in the mornings, and it's got to be past eight." She looked around for her phone, but I beat her to it.

"Eight-thirty."

"Oh no! and it's Wednesday? I have a lecture in fifteen minutes! Thomas, my desk, second drawer on the right, there's a pink and white bag, can you toss it to me?" While I looked, I heard the scrape of metal hangers as she went through her closet.

"This?" I asked, waving a vinyl bag tied with a drawstring.

"That's it." She took it from me then laid out a knee length skirt and a white buttoned top, then hooked the bra she'd taken off the night before over one of the hangers, followed by a pair of black panties, and pulled a towel off the closet shelf.

"Thanks for staying with me, Thomas, but I need that shower. Time to go." She seemed reluctant to send me away, but I could read her determination. As far as I could tell she was the same old Katherine.

"You really—" I began.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," she chided with a shrug, then unbuttoned her jeans and dropped them around her ankles.

Not again! I thought, standing up quickly and staring at the ceiling. "Okay, okay! I'm going!" I cried in surrender accompanied by her quiet laughter.

"I'll swing by after classes this afternoon if I can get caught up, okay?" she offered, "Maybe we can finally finish what we started." I heard innuendo in her voice, but I was too wound up to tell if she'd intended it. Miss Gold had said she'd be fine for a while on her own, and Katherine wasn't going to let me slow her down, so I relented.

"Okay, you win," I said, "Please call if you need anything."

"I will." she promised. "You're going to break your neck twisting it around like that. I'm decent." I looked down. Katherine wore the bath towel wrapped tightly around her torso and presumably nothing beneath it. Decent wasn't the first word that came to mind. I remembered her key card at the last minute and she told me to hang on to it.

"I have a spare in my shower bag. Now go or I'm going to be late." She went up on her tiptoes and gave me a quick peck on the lips. It would have been bold just a couple days ago, but felt innocent, even tame in present circumstances.

***

Back in my apartment, after my own much-needed shower, I sat on the sofa with the wood-bound book open on my lap, holding the hagstone to my eye. It was an awkward way to read anything, but I marveled at the illustrations that seemed to hover above the page and move on their own, an ancient, arcane version of augmented reality. Strange letters rippled and swam in and out of focus, but they surrendered to clear, plain English as I scanned leaf after gilded leaf.

It didn't take long, however, to discover that the hagstone could only get me so far. Miss Gold had made it sound like reading would be easy if I had the proper tools, but the Glim quickly proved that assumption wrong. Passages that began in one paragraph often finished in another. Cross references would offer up pointless information. When I tried to return to a section I'd previously read, even if I bookmarked the page, I struggled to find where I'd left off, as if the contents were deliberately avoiding me. It left me with the distinct impression that it had a mind of its own, and that it was kind of an asshole.

Several hours passed and Katherine hadn't called, and rather than worry I chose to see that as a good sign. If she were making it to classes, getting through them, studying in between, maybe Miss Gold had overstated the situation, or maybe she didn't know as much as she wanted me to believe. I could almost consider that the whole scenario had been a practical joke, until I remembered that I spent my morning using a magic rock to argue with a magic book.

I eventually gave up in frustration. The only thing I could get out of the Glim was a handful of recipes for minor curatives with ingredients like anithos and salvia to treat stomach pain, headaches and a variety of other illnesses. I set it aside and picked up the thick, wooden stick from where I'd stashed it on the floor next to the sofa. Through the hagstone, it became immediately clear that I held something special. Like the book, it glowed faintly, emanating color against the drab background of my apartment. Runes appeared to be carved in rows along its length and little traces of light, like tiny spiderwebs, ran through the grain, and where I touched it, little tendrils of green crawled across its surface and spilled into the runes. As undeniably cool as it was, it revealed no properties I wouldn't expect from any other random piece of tree.

All of the items I'd brought with me from the storage locker, except for the leather book in Younger Futhark, transformed beneath the hagstone. If the Glim was special I had to assume the others were as well, but they offered no new clues so I put everything back and set the hagstone gently inside the bowl.

I wasn't tired, but three hours of sleep in two days couldn't have been helping my state of mind and I decided I'd get a lot more out of it once I'd had a decent rest. I called the department secretary at Tory Hall to beg off classes for the day, something I'd never done, and endured a deluge of questions about my wellbeing. After dodging them, I turned my phone's ringer up as loud as it would go and settled down for a nap.

I couldn't tell if my head had just hit the pillow or hours had passed when Katherine's custom tone belted out its insistent melody, shocking me instantly awake.

"Hey," I answered as quickly as I could.

"Come get me." Her voice was level, but something in it sent a warning to the back of my neck.

"Where—"

She interrupted. "Bus stop. Jackson and 77th"

"I'll be—" I began.

She hung up.