"Hey Tom."

Finn woke me with a phone call just after six o'clock. I slid out of bed without disturbing Katherine and made my way to the common room.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"It's morning. Listen, I heard about the staff. Did Meg talk to you yet?"

"I barely saw her. She spoke with Becca and left."

"Damn her," she muttered in a quiet whisper. "Alright, so what do you know?"

"Uh," I droned, trying to conjure memories through the fog of sleep. "I don't—I think she said it reset or something."

"I meant about why it happened."

"I wrecked the spell somehow."

"Fair enough, but don't read too deeply into that. And the tree, can you send me a picture of it?"

"Finn, I'm not even dressed."

"I didn't ask for a picture of you, I need one of the tree."

"You woke me up to take a picture of a tree?"

"Yes."

I stifled a yawn. "The sun's barely up, there's not enough light."

"I'm not going to frame it, Tom, just use your flash. I need to see it and you're too far out of my way for me to check in."

"Fine. Give me a few minutes."

"I'll be waiting," she said, and hung up.

I yawned again and returned to Katherine's room for my clothes, then stumbled back out to the shower, deciding Finn's photo could wait. The card game had ended just before midnight and while I hadn't been particularly tired I had been looking forward to sleeping in, if only to give my brain a rest. Working toward a medical degree with a heavy class load, digesting the existence of other worlds, taking responsibility for three other people, and learning how to control weird abilities all at the same time left me mentally and emotionally exhausted, even after—or perhaps because of—hours of inactivity.

I rinsed, dried, and dressed before Rachel woke for her morning run, then made my way to the patio where I had a good view of the black tree. The first photo resulted in a dark smear. The second was a little clearer, but I couldn't quite get it into focus. I thought it was lack of skill at first, but everything else came through sharp, so I sent it to Finn with an apology and a short explanation.

"Nice morning wood," she typed back with an inappropriate combination of emojis. I wondered if her request was designed solely to deliver that punchline and seriously considered blocking her number.

Becca rose with Rachel and both stopped for a kiss before heading outside to continue wearing a footpath around the island. Sports bras were a second skin for Rachel, but Becca's looked foreign on her, more sexy than cute, and there was no sign of the shyness she'd exhibited while in Katherine's ill-fitting clothing. Once more I had to exert control over my wandering thoughts, and again wished that locking away my libido was as simple as it had been while medicated.

While they were still out, Katherine appeared, no less attractive than the others in her white robe, and we set about making breakfast.

"I think Gloria would do it," she said, scrambling several eggs on the stove. "She's always asking for help with her homework, and I could probably trade an hour of my time in exchange for her gathering some of our things."

I dropped several sausages on the griddle next to her. "She never struck me as someone who'd need a tutor."

"She doesn't, she just lacks confidence. I think her dad puts a lot of pressure on her, and she doesn't want to disappoint him."

"That's great if she'll do it, but we promised to wait."

"I know. Now that we're discussing it, I just want to get my things. Seems silly to put it off."

"What are you going to tell her?"

"Glory? I don't know. Maybe I should say you proposed and we moved into an apartment in the city."

"How does that explain why you can't get your clothes? Or why you look like you joined a cult."

She pulled at the shapeless waistline of her robe. "I have the stuff I loaned Becca. It'll be cold, but I'll borrow a jacket from one of the girls."

"Then where are you going to find an hour to help her study?"

"I'll tell her I need a break from the nonstop honeymoon sex," She winked, then giggled at my expression. "Don't worry, I'll come up with something. I won't give her any details."

"She might ask."

Katherine giggled, "Oh, she will. I'm sure there's plenty of gossip in the dorm already. I'll toss her a few half answers and she'll make her own assumptions. Whatever she comes up with won't hold a candle to the truth."

"Only because she's not insane."

The conversation ended when Rachel and Becca entered the building together, covered in a light sheen of sweat, and made their way to the counter.

"Hope you saved some for me," Rachel said, inhaling the smell of eggs and sausage.

"There's enough for everyone if you want it. Can you grab the orange juice from the fridge?" Becca beat her to it, and Katherine turned her attention to the coffee maker.

When everyone had finished, I volunteered to clean up and Rachel nodded her thanks.

"Sounds great, I'm going to hit the shower."

"I need one too," Becca added.

I groaned inwardly. The shower was visible from almost anywhere in the warehouse, but it directly faced the kitchen and common room. "Did you miss the part where I'm going to be right here doing the dishes?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Rach..."

"It'll be fine, Thomas, you face the sink. I'll make sure you don't accidentally peek." Katherine flashed a sultry grin at the others and I could hardly believe my ears when Becca laughed too.

"How about I clean the kitchen when you're all done."

"Spoilsport," Katherine pouted, then began pulling off her robe without missing a beat. "Better hurry then."

I turned away, though not as quickly as I would have a week before, and made a show of retreating up the stairs, allowing them their victory. After a moment of consideration, I also pulled curtains across the window that looked out over the warehouse, but not before catching a distant view of Rachel tossing her running shorts into a laundry basket.

A flicker of embarrassment surged into anger and soured my mood. Despite Meg's explanation, the shower still seemed to be nothing more than one of Finn's pranks, created solely to provoke me, and it was forcing the subject of sex into my relationships. At the very least, it threatened my self control. I was trying my best to be a gentleman—a good man—but I had drives and desires that were becoming more insistent by the day.

I wasn't really mad at Finn. She could have put up partitions, but we'd had days to find an alternative and the shower remained exposed. Maybe that's why I felt angry. Maybe I wasn't as bothered by it as I thought I should be. Maybe looking out the window before pulling the curtain wasn't just an accident.

Miss Gold had been right from the start. I couldn't resist temptation forever, not when the subjects of my affection wanted it even more than I did. What if Gloria had been contaminated? Or Shelly from the lab? Or Professor Barnes? Would I struggle the same way with all of them? Could I fall for a dozen women at once, or would they start blending together until I began to see them as obligations, or worse, objects. How many mistakes would it take to turn me into my father?

My phone buzzed twice before I noticed. I checked the number and answered on the third ring.

"What do you want?" I grumbled. It was Finn.

"Someone's got a stick up his ass."

"Not in the mood, Finn. Do you need another picture?"

"No, but that's why I'm calling. Your tree is a crategus."

"A what?"

"A hawthorn."

I took a few seconds to organize my thoughts. "I've seen hawthorns, Finn, that thing looks like a movie prop."

"What you've seen are analogs of the first tree. The laws of this world have conditioned them over time, but they're not originally from here."

I failed to rein in my sarcasm. "No kidding."

"You don't understand. These things appeared in the chaos war, Tom, during the first incursion. Meg only knows part of the story. Nobody has seen one in thousands of years."

"First war? The—chthonians—attacked more than once?" I asked, waiting for some kind of revelation. She didn't reply, and that alone gave me cause for dread. "Fine, then what's this thing doing in my back yard?"

She ignored my question. "We need to find out as much as we can about you, Tom. You're not fully gean canagh, and you're not fully leanan sidhe, but you're not a true darkling either, at least not in any normal sense. What's important is that a tree that hasn't existed in this world for more than four millennia appeared on your doorstep. Anyone who knows about your history will consider you a potential threat. Anyone who knows about this tree will see it as proof that you are."

"Shit."

"Exactly."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Apart from what I just told you? Probably not. The crategus is incredibly useful, even the modern variants, which is why they weren't burned out of existence after the war. The druid's staff is made from one, and the Glim is partly bound in its wood."

I sat down at the table and put my head in my hands. "Is there anything I need to do?"

"Not with the tree. Other than you four, only Gold, Meg, Amy, and I know about it, and we'll make sure it stays that way until we know more. Next time I bring in a crew we'll find a way to disguise it. As for finding out what you are, have you had sex yet?"

The question caught me off guard. "What?"

"That's a no. You might want to reconsider. There's something off about the effect you have on these women. I've seen what your dad does to his victims and they're not right in the head, even before they go batshit crazy. Your girls are different. Maybe they're just secure in the belief that you're not going anywhere, but I doubt it. We could find out more if you finished the job."

I tried to deflect the conversation. "W—what about my grandmother's abilities? Miss Gold said she used something like a geas to keep my mom alive for months. Couldn't that have something to do with it?"

"Your mom was in pain for every one of those months. Do those girls look like they're hurting?"

"No," I admitted.

"Then there's something else, unique to you. That ability isn't designed to be half-assed, Tom, it has a purpose, one that needs to be fulfilled if you're ever going to understand it."

"Why do you even care?" I asked suddenly. Other than the work she'd put into Meridian at Miss Gold's request, everything Finn had done was for her own amusement. "I'm not going to risk anyone just because you think it might be funny."

"Do I sound amused to you?" she snapped back. Her sudden anger robbed me of any reply. "This is my world too, Tom, and if you're a threat to it I want to know. Is that explanation enough? Would you like to hear that I have a contingency plan to end you before you become a monster?"

I felt the blood leave my face and knew if I had a mirror it would show the sickly, pale complexion I'd lost weeks ago to Miss Gold's tea. I couldn't find any words that wouldn't sound empty, stupid, or childish in the wake of her outburst.

"Sorry, Tom," she said after a minute of silence. I'd almost forgotten I was still holding my phone. "I know what you think of me, but I am trying to help. It's not easy when you spend half your time fighting your own nature and the rest of it pushing back on everyone else."

"I suppose," I said sheepishly. "I'm sorry too, Finn."

"Good, because like it or not, those girls are bound to you, and nothing short of a miracle will change that. They won't pressure you because they're in all in love with you. Gold is too protective to give you more than vague suggestions. I'm the only one who's going to tell it to you straight. You're a child of chaos, Tom, there's no other explanation, but you're not the incarnation of madness everyone's afraid of either."

"Then what am I?" I asked. My voice was level, calm, and dry. Inside I was begging for answers.

"That's the million dollar question," she said, "but we can't even guess until you stop being afraid of what you are, and by then you will probably figure it out on your own. Complete the cycle. I'm not telling you to do it today, but do it before you get too comfortable."

"I'll try."

"No, do or do not, there is no try."

"Thanks, Yoda."

"I'm way hotter," she quipped, her mirth returning suddenly. "Speaking of little people, Amy might show herself in the next day or two. Meg gave her a project, and she needs direct access to your mainframe."

"Thanks for the heads up."

"Don't mention it. Gotta run," she said, as if she hadn't just dumped every dark fear I'd had in the last week over my head, then hung up.

"You in a pissy mood again?" Rachel asked from the sofa when I finally made my way downstairs.

"Not really. Finn called. Where's everyone else?"

"Becks is off studying the book and stroking her stick. I think Kath is trying to decide which sheet she's going to wear." She turned off the TV and cast the remote aside. "What did the runt have to say?"

"She thinks you're all too infatuated to give me grief, so she decided it was her job."

"Sit. What sort of grief?"

I dropped into the cushions next to her. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Then she either said you're a monster, or you were discussing sex." I stared at her in surprise. "Oh come on, Tom, I'm not stupid. Those are the only two things that set you off."

I sighed. "A little of both, actually."

"She told you to sleep with Kath, didn't she?"

"Were you listening in?"

"I was bare-assed under the shower until a few minutes ago, but it's not hard to guess. It's a major hangup for you, and you came moping down those stairs like someone told you to shoot your dog."

"You're pretty perceptive for a human," came a high voice from the floor in front of us.

"He's been pretty obvious about it, but I—what the fuck!?" Rachel howled and scrambled backward until she slipped over the back of the sofa. She wasn't fearful by nature, but other than Katherine's antlered healer she'd never encountered a Fae that didn't look entirely human, and the hob's sudden appearance had startled me too.

"Can you tell your woman to chill, Tom?" Amy said with a bemused smile as she leaped onto the coffee table and sat down. A pair of strange looking goggles hung around her neck, and what appeared to be a small, hand held radio was strapped to her back.

"It's okay, Rach," I said, "she works for Finn."

"It's one of the good ones?"

"I'm a she, not an it," Amy said. "And I'm good enough to people who stay off my shit list."

I jumped in before Rachel could respond. We couldn't afford to make the few Fae who were on our side angry. "I didn't know you were coming until a few minutes ago, how'd you get here so fast?"

"Finn assumes I'll wait for Grimble's permission, but I sneaked out, bummed a ride, and got in last night. I've already uploaded proprietary firmware to the backup mainframe, but I need to run a diagnostic that'll take most of the night before I can start anything else."

"Stay as long as you want," I told her. "There aren't many berries left. How about apple and banana slices?"

"Berries are better, but that's fine, thanks."

Rachel eased herself into view and climbed back onto the sofa.

"Amy's a brownie," I said in introduction. "I met her when we got back from the campsite."

"You're the little shit Tom was leaving the munchies out for."

"Cute. Want a sticker for working that out?"

Rachel glowered. "Maybe I'd rather drop-kick your Barbie-doll ass across the room."

"Try it and you'll find a colony of earwigs in your pillowcase tonight."

"Huh," Rachel snorted, less fazed by the threat than Amy's sudden appearance. "Not bad, brownie girl."

Amy chuckled quietly and held out a hand, waiting for Rachel to shake it gingerly between thumb and forefinger.

"You're warm."

"High metabolism."

"Ferrets have crazy metabolism," Rachel noted. "I had one once. It shit all over the place."

Amy laughed. "I like her, Tom, but you might want to invest in a ball gag."

"You can fuck all the way off, pipsqueak."

I stared at them both in disbelief.

"What?" Rachel asked once I caught her eye.

"Just like that? You're besties now?"

She shrugged and settled deeper into the cushions, as if the past five minutes never happened. "Ok, she caught me off guard, but weird shit is kind of our thing now, isn't it? Besides, she's got bigger balls than most of the guys at school, that's good enough for me."

A squeal echoed off the walls from behind us, and Becca ran forward, dropping wide-eyed to her knees a few feet from the table. "Is she a fairy? You're a fairy, aren't you? You're so little! What kind—no, I'm sorry, it's rude to ask. I bet you're a br—brun..."

"And this is Becca," I said. Amy giggled and dropped to the floor.

"Hob is easier to remember, but you can call me Amy."

"Amy? So cute! Is that your real name? Do fairies have normal names? I didn't think they would. Meg has a normal name though, so maybe it's not that strange."

"Becca..."

"It's fine, Tom. Amy is short for Amilindis. Meg's true name is hard to pronounce, but she probably wouldn't answer to it anyway. Hasn't used it in ages."

"You're so cool!" Becca exclaimed, almost shaking with excitement.

"Good to meet you too," Amy laughed, "but in the future, don't sprint toward a Fae you don't know. Most brunaidh will think you're attacking. In general, anything that doesn't run away will try to eat you."

Becca managed to restrain herself with some effort and the three of them began chatting as though they were old friends. It might have been my unnatural abilities working as a kind of social lubricant, but perhaps it was something less mysterious. Though their familiarity seemed sudden, I'd watched both Katherine and Rachel approach strangers at social events with the same audacity, and Amy had been observing the others for days. The only barrier that might have remained rested on our definition of normal, and as Rachel pointed out, we'd left that far behind.

First thing Monday morning, at Becca's request, I tried calling both Finn and Miss Gold one last time to see if the apartment was clear, but neither responded, so we followed through with our own plans. Katherine phoned Gloria, and after a prolonged conversation, made arrangements to meet her later that day.

While we waited, I explored the more active side of my powers, the gifts of the leanan sidhe, and though I failed to achieve more control, my perception of that other world was clearer than ever. The longer I concentrated on one of the girls, the more I perceived her anima as a distinct whole. I could still pick out individual sparks, smells, and even sounds like chimes or birdsong, but they were all part of something bigger, a symphony of echoes that weren't random, yet not quite a tune. They were also less likely to hijack one of my other senses, and I was able to distinguish between realities. Usually.

It was the pace that frustrated me most. I was certain that I'd have made better progress if that power had been linked to anything other than primal lust because whether I succeeded or failed, the result was always embarrassing.

After lunch, Katherine drove to a coffee shop in the heart of the city to give my door key to Gloria, and before nightfall we were successfully reunited with our belongings. Glory hadn't been able to locate my wireless mouse and I had a couple mismatched socks, but she did find and pack my medication, even though nobody had asked her to. After all the deliberation, the outcome was anticlimactic and even Becca had to agree that it had been a good idea.

The next few days passed without incident, and we saw the final green leaves yield to red and yellow as we neared the end of September. I began pulling ahead in school once more, which relieved my professors, all except for Kelly Barnes. I hadn't appreciated how many hours were required in the lab until I could no longer attend, and several classes obligated me to log time in order to receive a passing grade. Nothing else would matter if I couldn't make up those sessions and the semester was drawing rapidly to a close, but lab assignments were relatively easy, and compared with every other worry it seemed like a minor hurdle. I arrogantly put them off.

On Friday morning, as the sun began to crest the high banks of our river, Katherine approached me where I sat on a boulder near the shore, watching the river dragon hunt. His smooth, black back would breach the surface of the water every few minutes, then it would vanish quickly and soundlessly, leaving only faint ripples behind.

"Thomas?" Katherine said finally, unwilling to join me so close to the water's edge.

"What's going on?"

"We have a... problem."

"Are you okay?" I turned into the light breeze and was grateful to have my fall jacket. The day promised to be warmer than usual, but our river had dug so far into the limestone that we received fewer hours of direct sun than most of the city.

"I'm good. It's about Rachel."

"What about her?" I asked, and after hearing Katherine's explanation, the anxiety I'd nearly shed returned in force. "We haven't been that busy, how did we not notice?"

"There's been a lot going on, things—and people, apparently—are bound to slip through the cracks. Do you think there's anything we can do?"

My mind spun through alternatives, discarding them as quickly as they appeared. "I don't know, Kath. It'll be obvious if anyone leaves and we can't all go together. Miss Gold is supposed to be back this weekend, maybe she can help."

"No offense to your godmother, but she's a little cold and I can't imagine she'd be very understanding. What about Finn?"

"I'd rather leave her out of it, to be honest."

"Why? I like her."

"You're not her favorite chew toy."

"Oh, don't be a baby, it's not that bad."

"Oh really? Maybe I can talk her into harassing you instead." Katherine held up both hands defensively. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

"So what are we going to do about Rachel?" she asked.

"Does Becca know?"

"Not yet."

"She might have some ideas. While you're doing that I'll check with the Fae and see what I can come up with."

As she turned to leave, the river dragon burst violently upward less than a dozen yards away to snatch a crow from the air mid-flight. Katherine screamed and stumbled to the ground, and I fell off my rock trying to scramble away as a spray of water covered us both. The creature looked more like a crested eel than any picture of a dragon I'd ever seen, though its skull was nearly as large as a polar bear's, and the row of dagger-like fangs that protruded from its jaw suggested he could call himself whatever the hell he wanted. As it returned slowly beneath the waves, I could have sworn its slitted, yellow eye was fixed on me.