“Then the other door opened. I wen't rigid. If I had thought Reth's was beautiful, it was nothing to this soul. It filled the night with light, dancing and rippling like the reflection on a pond. I hadn't seen many souls, but I knew this one was special. I wanted it. I needed it.”

“I hadn't seen Reth since he had come to visit me in the hospital after I released the souls, and I never wanted to again.Him or any of the other creepy, manipulative, amoral, psychotic, insert-furhter-negative-adjectives-of-your-choice-here faeries. Especially after today, if the sylph was with them. I wasn't about to draw their attention to me by holding hands through the Faerie Paths.She smiled. "I understand. In fact, one of my first initiatives was weaning IPCA from faerie magic dependancy. I think you'll be pleased to find that we now use them a mere forty percent of the amount we used to.""Forty percent, huh? That's still about one hundred percent more than I'm happy with.”

“I looked at the door, at war with myself. On the one hand, I hated going anything Reth wanted me to. On the other hand, there was a mop with my name on it inside."Fine, but if you try anything-""Really, Evelyn,how I've missed your charming company."Keeping a wary eye on the faerie, I followed hi, through the alley. We made our way down the lamp-lined street, his step so light it bordered on dancing. I felt like a graceless clod next to him. Then there was the aspect of his ethereal, near-angelic beauty compared to my..well, for the sake of my self-esteem, it was probably best not to compete.”

“I snapped my lips shut againt the yes that was about to come out. Could I hit Reth? Could I please, please just ht him?”

“How?" I had seen it with my own eyes, but I still didn't believe it. Then something struck me. "Take off your shirt!""I'm not that kind of guy!" He frowned thoughtfully. "On second thought, why not?"I blushed angrily and looked at Raquel. "What is he? I don't see anything!""He's not 'anything'.Just a talented boy.""Then how did he make a door? How did he get through the Paths?""Wait,so am I allowed to put my shirt back on? Or did you want me to remove my pants,too?"Lend and I joined forces in a dark glare. "Only if you want me to vomit," I snapped.”

“Reth looked exasperated. “When is something ever not wrong in your life?”I frowned. “That’s my line.”

“I changed because of you. I could feel you, worming your way into my heart and soul, shifting things. You've no idea how aggravating it is to have to adapt to new feelings and thoughts.”