"Uh-huh," came the quiet reply. Daniel faced the two spell casters, and the girls arrayed themselves behind him in a line.

Daniel sped up the pocket pussy and pussy balls. He could feel their magic grow with the pleasure. He sought clarity and suddenly, time seemed to slow down for him. Maybe it was the adrenalin or the fear in his stomach, but he suddenly felt more in control. He looked down at himself and saw two sets of tendrils wrapping around him in browns and dark greens. He glanced behind him and saw tendrils between all the girls, but nothing from Amber to him.

I see now, he thought. I can't deny it.

He looked back at Reggie and Ronnie. They had auras that pulsed red and purple. The sight of it was repellent to Daniel. He could feel the badness coming off of them. Not evil, but one day, he somehow knew, they would be.

Daniel called out to the Cray brothers. "Who's this boss you keep mentioning? Who is it?"

The Cray brothers exchanged grins. “Someone who doesn't care what happens to you bastards."

Both brothers made gestures together. Daniel remembered it from before. It was Magic Missile, guaranteed to always hit the intended target, according to his spell book.

Daniel was surprised when he felt the added fear and excitement from Amber. Her emotions tasted delicious to him, but muted somehow, Like it was filtered. Using magic to her was about control. She saw this fight as a massive grab for control. He could feel just how much she loved manipulating magic to her desires. She loved the power. But mostly she Loved the control.

He was starting to fully understand her now. He grinned and gestured just as bright orbs burst from the Cray brothers’ outstretched arms and hands. He reduced the power to the shield he used. He didn't want to show just how powerful the circle could make it. Faster than he could blink, a shield sphere snapped into existence around him and the girls. It was light blue and translucent.

The Magic Missile orbs swirled in a tight spiral directly at Daniel.

He watched them, forcing his confidence into the shield.

Please, please, please!

The orbs smacked into the shield and vanished. Daniel wasn't certain, but he thought perhaps the shield had absorbed the magical energy.

He watched the Cray brothers. Their astonishment was made all the sweeter by the laughter coming from all the watching bystanders.

Daniel kept his eye on the brothers, worried about what they would do next.

Earlier, when they had discussed the likelihood of this exact same encounter, the girls had been certain the Cray brothers would back down. Daniel was certain it would only make them want to try harder.

He had warned them not to let their guard down at this moment. They had agreed, and he could feel their attention behind him. He smiled, then gave a smug look at the brothers. This seemed to incense them, and Amy growled. Daniel could sense the growl was meant for him.

They had all agreed to do nothing offensive; only defend themselves.

They hadn't wanted to escalate matters. The problem was that Daniel and the girls only knew so many spells. He had gone through the spell book with Amber and found a couple of spells they thought might help. Daniel agreed not to look at the more offensive spells, lest he decide to use them. It had taken a lot of arguing from the girls for him to agree. And a lot of hands and mouths on his body.

Daniel hoped that the Cray brothers weren't advanced enough to cast something their shield couldn't handle.

Instead, the brothers walked closer and stopped about ten feet away from the edge of the sphere. Daniel knew they could rush it and walk through the shield, and they had agreed to run if that was the case.

Daniel watched them for a bit longer and wondered what they were waiting for.

Daniel felt a hush descend on the Academy Courtyard. The spectators were all watching Daniel and whispering to one another.

Daniel twisted his head to the right but kept his eyes on the brothers and whispered. “What's going on?"