After some time, Elena went to get some sleep and Juanita used that chance to speak to Keith alone. "I can't believe I'm the size of a borrower" she said sitting next to him. "Believe it. Stick your hand out there" he said. She did, and a rain drop hit hard enough to push her arm down. "Whoa" she said. "You look sad" Juanita said softly. "Rain brings back old memories. I lost my parents during a rainstorm" he said. Juanita looked down at her feet. "It's okay. I met two people I love very much during a rainstorm too. I try to focus on that when I'm down" he said smiling. "What are borrower girls like?" she asked. "Like you. They like boys. Like to dress up if possible. Do their finger and toenails" he replied. She looked at her own nails. Dirty and worn. She couldn't recall the last time she painted them. She scrunched her toes out of embarrassment. "Boyfriends?" she asked. "Absolutely. Borrower girls seek out mates around the age of 10. Start having kids by 14" he said. "Did you?" she asked. "No, not me. By the time I was 14, I just had my sister. I was more concerned about finding food than starting a family. If it wasn't so bad I might've had kids with my sister" he replied. She looked shocked.

"Borrowers live by different rules as a matter of survival. Incest does happen if necessary. Our blood bonds are stronger than humans" he explained. She scooted closer. "Is it true that borrowers have better senses than humans?" she asked. "Yep. Our hearing, sight, smell, touch, even taste is sharper than a human's" he said. Keith noticed a heightened level of pheromones coming from the girl. "Juanita...I..." he was saying before the girl stole a kiss from him. She got up and sat down on his lap. He stopped her from taking her shirt off. "No. You're too young for this" he said sternly. "You said yourself borrower girls start a family by age 14. I like you very much and... I want to have a baby" she said stammering. "You're human Juanita. Borrowers do what they do because of survival. Living in a world where anything could crush, eat, or maul you, it's necessary to have as many kids as fast as possible" he said. She seemed to ignore him and kissed him again. Keith pushed her off him.

"It's her. You love her more" she hissed glaring at the sleeping Elena. She ran out the cave crying. "Son of a bitch" he muttered taking the LED lantern and chasing after her. "Damn she can move" he thought following her tiny footprints in the mud. He heard a scream and dashed as fast as he could. He held his breath as a massive lizard lay in the mud asleep. "Don't move. Don't scream again" he said walking very slowly to her. She was petrified of the creature. Keith knew full well what it was. A Gila Monster. Venomous and had a taste for very small mammals. And a shrunken human girl easily fit the bill. A 42 ft. long (at their scale) slumbering predator. He took her hand and pulled. Her legs gave out immediately and he smelled her piss. Silently, he took her in his arms and carried her back to the cave. He sat her down and she immediately hugged him tight crying.

Keith comforted her as she settled down. "I pissed myself" she muttered. "It happens" Keith said softly. She walked away and came back with a change of clothes. "Jesus" he muttered seeing her strip naked and clean off in the falling rain. Keith turned his head. "You're tempted" Oberon said to him. "Of course I am. She's fucking ovulating as we speak. I can fucking smell her fertility. Never mind that. Tell me what the hell kind of magic that Asian bitch had. Never seen the like" Keith said. "She's a light mage for sure. An expert it seems. She even uses it to fly" Oberon said. "How can light make a person fly?" Keith asked. "What you saw wasn't light itself. It was plasma. She uses light to charge the very air like a neon sign and uses the charge to literally fling herself though the air. This rainstorm is the only thing keeping her from using it now" he replied. "So what kind of spells can we use?" Keith asked. "None. There is no arcane that can replicate those kinds of magics. However, there is a flaw in using such magic" he said. "Don't keep it to yourself" Keith muttered trying not to look at Juanita.

"As you know, lasers are very bright. What she does is extremely similar, so it has the same drawback. When she fires, she has to either squint or look away or be blinded by her own attack" Oberon said. "So if I evade her attack she won't see me counter?" Keith asked. "Exactly. The trick obviously is to avoid the attack" Oberon said. "Easier said than done old fairy" Keith quipped. Juanita finished changing and limped over to him. "What's wrong? You're walking funny" he asked. He looked down to see spots of blood in her footprints. He had her sit down and looked at her feet. "You cut your feet when you ran out. Humans your size shouldn't walk barefoot outdoors. That's a borrower thing. Hold still" he said. With his shirt she wiped blood from her tender soles. Some water to clean them and then he had her draw a healing arcane. "Borrowers don't have to worry about this huh?  she asked. "No. We evolved to have tougher skin. Necessary if you're walking through grass. Most importantly, the soles of our feet. In fact, our feet are very sensitive even if they're tough. Borrower girls especially make sure their feet are healthy" he said. She wriggled her toes in his lap.

"So you don't love me?" she asked. Keith felt her little toes. "Didn't say that. I don't love you the way you want me too. You're 13 years old. A human girl with advantages I never had at your age" he replied. "What advantages? You think it'll be fucking rainbows and gumdrops for me and my family in America? I'll be an illegal Hispanic. Watching what friends I can have. Where I can go. Living in fear of deportation? And that doesn't even cover the fact of going to school" she said upset. "You know what I was doing when I was 14? Sitting in a cage getting a blowjob from my sister. Her way to keep me from losing my shit. Your life isn't going to be a fucking picnic Juanita but fuck me. You were nearly eaten tonight. For a borrower girl that's just another Tuesday. It's not the shit in our lives that defines us. The grass is always going to be greener somewhere else but to step through that shit and come out smelling like roses? Now that's the real challenge. You have your parents and had a roof over your head. When I was 13 my parents were buried under a pound of dirt in some damn field and I was living in a fucking three hole like a squirrel" he said. She felt ashamed by his words.

Keith picked up her foot and gently kissed her toes. "I love you bunches even though we've known one another a few hours but we were NEVER meant to be with each other. I'm sorry kiddo" he said. She quietly shed tears. She left him and load on her sleeping bag. "You broke her heart" Oberon said. "I know and I hate it" Keith said. Keith sat silently looking outside until the rain began to end. "She'll come soon" Oberon warned. "I know" he muttered. "Interesting" An muttered as her scrying spell finally kicked in.  She saw the rain ending and had the man pull over. "Your services are no longer required. Go be with those kids in the picture...as long as you can" she said shutting the door. She watched him turn around and drive away. Everyone was putting their bags back in the van as Elena stood next to Keith. "Never seen the sunrise in the desert before" he said. She hugged him from behind. "What brought that up?" he asked. "Just wanted to hug you. Looks like you need it" she said. "I swear I'll keep you safe. I owe Gabi that much" he said softly. She kissed him roughly on the mouth. "You'll do more than that" she said smiling. Keith hoped Juanita didn't see that.

His happiness was interrupted as the smell of ozone filled the air. "Why would...oh no" he muttered. He tensed up as a light in the sky approached rapidly. "She found us!" he yelled. An landed abruptly before the cave. She twisted her neck causing to pop loudly. She cracked her knuckles looking dead at the opening. "She found us? How?!" Keith yelled. "Keith...your seal" Oberon said. Keith looked at his hand. "The damn rain washed it off. In that case..." he said. He strode out and grew to human size. Everyone was astounded by it. And Juanita stared in awe of her giant crush. Keith enlarged his sword. "Take no step closer. Walk away. I warn you. I have killed elites before" he said.  An pushed her glasses closer to her eyes. "Once I kill her, I'll shrink you down and tear off your legs just for making me chase you all" she said with an eerie calm. Keith took a fighting stance. "You can try" he said.

He immediately charged her as a glow surrounded the woman. He figured if he was fast enough, he could at least distract her from finishing her spell array. An began to hover inches off the ground. He swung and missed. Swung again and missed further. Even fortified, he was too slow to connect. She held out her palm. "I've taken your measure...and found you wanting" she said as Keith felt a static charge on his skin. He himself rose an inch or so off the ground before being violently thrown through the air. His back and back of his head slammed into the rock face. If he wasn't protected, his back would've been broken instantly. He almost blacked out. Warm blood dripped down his neck. Keith used it to quickly draw a healing arcane in the wet dirt. She aimed her finger at him. "This will keep you...oh?" she said seeing a shrunken van racing away from them. Even with the pedal to the floor, at its size it wasn't breaking 35 mph. She changed her target and fired.

Instantly, the van back passenger tire exploded cussing it to careen left and flip the van multiple times. "Trying to buy time for them to escape? Nice try. An A for effort" she said hovering over to it. She had to make sure Elena was inside. If she was dead, job done. If not, job done in seconds. Using her hand, she tore a hole in the roof. Only Carlos was inside. She angrily tore him free snapping the seatbelt like it was string. "Play me for a fool?!" she bellowed throwing him through the air like a baseball. Poor Carlos landed with a wet thud in the mud not too far from the cave. An went right back to where she was. Keith was healing and the rest of the family, including Elena, was gone. She tossed a ball of light into the air to shine everywhere. She spotted movement near a crevasse.

"Deeper!" Mateó yelled pushing his mother, sister, and Elena further into the crack. Their hope was since it was barely wide enough for them, this woman wouldn't be able to get to them. An reached down. Carmella was having difficulty squeezing through. Her swollen belly was preventing her from moving further. Mateó was pushing on her shoulders and suddenly he was roughly yanked by his exposed leg away from them. "MATEÓ!" his mother screamed. "Gotcha! Dammit...you're not her. Hmm..." she said. The shrunken 13-year-old boy wriggled fiercely in her grip. He looked dead at her and that was all she needed. An flashed intensely for a few seconds and the boy stopped struggling. "Good boy. Now take off your clothes" she commanded. Hypnotized, he didn't object. He kicked off his sandals, slipped off his shorts and briefs, and finally his faded World Cup 2006 jersey. Carmella gazed up through the crack terrified at the giantess holding her naked shrunken son.

"Not bad. Not bad at all" she mused using her fingernail to play with his balls and cock. "Elena Flores! You got one minute to come out of hiding or I will make this child my breakfast!" she yelled. An knew it was too dark even with her light orb to get a really good shot but she counted on Elena's good nature. She wouldn't let the boy be eaten. Just to terrify them more, An began to jerk the boy off with her fingers. Carmella was losing her shit hearing her son moan. "Yeah you like that don't you? A pretty Asian giantess getting your horny butt off. The boy groaned shooting his puny load on her index finger. An sucked it right off. "Sweet. 30 seconds Elena. I'll start with his cute tiny feet first" she said. Elena quietly shed tears as she knew what was coming. Keith struggled to stand. His recently healed back popped as he got to his feet. He nearly fell as dizziness from a concussion was still affecting him. "10 seconds. Well kid it looks like I'm going to eat you. You got a problem with that?" she asked Mateó. "...no mistress. Go ahead and eat me" she said with no emotion. Elena scrambled over Carmella and looked at her. She smiled. "Oh god..." Carmella muttered sobbing. Juanita hugged her mother.

Just as An began to push his legs in, Elena popped out. "STOP! Let...let him go" she said. An could barely see her. Keith quickly drew an arcane as he could barely raise his sword. An pushed Mateó into her mouth. "Walk to me. No funny stuff or I swallow him" she said. Elena walked right to her giant feet and was snatched right from the ground. She could see Mateó's tiny sole poking out from between her lips. He wasn't fighting or screaming. "You got me...now let him go" Elena said. An looked dead at her...and swallowed. "NOOOOOO!" she shrieked as the lump that was the boy disappeared past her collarbone. "I did what you asked!" Elena sobbed. "And you made me chase you through a fucking desert. Never had a had a target elude me so long. Worse yet...my fucking Prada sandals are ruined. Besides...he was delicious. You can join him" An said to her. "...eat shit" Keith hissed as the spell finished.

Rain water not soaked into the ground formed shards of ice and streaked towards her. The woman was skewered in seconds. Dropping Elena in the process, An fell onto the ground. Keith picked up his sword. "Death won't be easy for you" he said standing over her. An was still alive. "Worse thing you could've done was eat that kid. Now? Now I'm going to carve him out. I'm going to use you to send a message to your buddies. Fuck with my loved ones and you'll get a treatment that'll make God cry. I'm going to rape you starting with your feet and work my way up. When they find your corpse, it'll be half eaten by buzzards with my semen still inside you. "You like that?! You like turning people into monsters?! Destroying lives?! DO YOU?!" Keith screamed. The shards of ice pushed out of her body. "Monsters? You do a good job of that without our help" An said flinging Keith and Elena forward.

Keith was aghast at how fast she healed. Even Oberon was speechless. "I'm done. I'm done being easy. Agreement be damned. You will turn to ash like the rest" she said holding out her hands. He could see the spell would be devastating and his vision was blurry the once more. "Oh god Keith..." Elena muttered finding Carlos. "Get Carmella and Juanita here now!" Keith yelled. Keith quickly scribbled down a barrier spell. It was the only idea he had until the healing spell on his body had run its course. "Quickly!" he yelled as Elena dragged them along. "Behind me now!" Keith yelled as the last symbols were written in his own blood. "Burn to ash! FINAL FLASH!" An screamed as her spell was let loose. *

(Authors note: couldn't help but squeeze in that Easter egg name lol)

Nobody, not even An herself could look at the attack. It was like a thousand suns shining all at once. A jet liner flying to Dallas 30,000 ft. overhead could see it. "Papa!" Juanita said cradling the man. Keith gave a glance. "Oh god the blood...heal him! Use your magic!" the tiny girl screamed at him. "...I can't. It's taking all I got to keep the barrier up. I lose focus for a moment and we all fry. Jesus...this spell..." he groaned as his stamina was growing short. He heard them sobbing as he looked closer. "Keith..." Elena said looking at him. She had resigned herself to death. "Elena...ELENA! There...there's a way to end this. I need your help to do it" he said. "Anything!" she yelled. "You have to use your own magic" he said. "But I can't! You know...no. God no! Anything but that!" she said seeing his gaze on Carlos. The barrier shrank as he strained. "Elena...he's bleeding too much. He's going to die anyway. Carlos? Can you hear me?" he asked. Carlos nodded. "Elena can save your family but she needs you. She needs to eat you" he muttered.

"Don't eat my daddy!" Juanita screamed. "It will save them?" Carlos asked. "Yes" Keith replied. He looked at his daughter, and then his wife, and finally his unborn child. "Then do it" he told Elena. Elena wiped off her seal and grew. She picked him up with a shaking hand. She gasped as she felt his broken bones nearly rattle around in his body. "I love you. Daddy loves you" Carlos told them as Elena put him in her mouth. She nearly gagged immediately tasting his salty coppery blood. She swallowed his broken body down trying not to hear Juanita and her mother sobbing. The barrier was failing. The light was getting brighter and the air hotter. An was putting EVERYTHING in her attack. The very sand before her had melted into glass. "Elena?" Keith asked. "...not yet" she replied. Seconds passed as Keith fell back. He asked again. "...not yet" she said. "I can't hold it!" he said as the barrier cracked. "There. His soul is mine. God help me it’s mine" she muttered. Elena stood up.

"Stop" she commanded. Her voice was unnatural in tone as the words left her lips. An's attack immediately stopped and Keith dropped the barrier. The woman was visibly struggling. "Elena, did you digest Carlos?" Keith asked. "How could you ask..."

"YES OR NO!" Keith screamed. "...yes. That's how my power works" Elena muttered. Her concentration nearly broke hearing Carmella and her daughter sobbing. "Hold her. I'm ending this" Keith said picking his sword up. Keith sprinted not as An but the wrecked shrunken van. He had a plan to end the woman in a way not even her healing ability could fix. "Hurry!" Elena said struggling as he mumbled a hypnotic tune. In one hand, Keith turned the van in his palm. With the tip of his blade, he stabbed through the small side door of it before flinging it like a brick. In the time it sailed through the air, the van exploded in size right back to its normal size...much to the bad fortune of An. That 91' Chevy Astro van landed on her at a speed of 50 mph. She was not moving, trickles of blood seeped from underneath. "I was expecting her feet to curl up like the wicked witch from Wizard of Oz" Keith muttered walking up to her. A beam of light cut the van in two and the pieces were pushed aside. "...not good enough. You will die" An hissed standing. The others were horrified to see her alive...but not Keith.

Her shattered bones popped and reformed as she stood. "No, we won't. This fight is over. You're tough. Toughest I've ever seen but not even you can survive what's going to happen in a few seconds. The van I hit you with was shrunk with an arcane spell. A spell that not only shrank it but the people inside. The same spell I just cancelled by stabbing the door it was written on. Hence why it grew in midair. But that's not all that's going to grow back" he said pointing to Carmella and Juanita. Slowly they began to grow back to normal size. "I said eating that boy was the worst thing you could've done..." Keith said grinning wickedly. An looked at her belly and saw it was distended. It grew and grew and An screamed in pain. Keith stood far away from her. She let out a blood curdling shriek before exploding. In her place was Mateó now human size once more. Carmella and Juanita rushed over to him. "He's not breathing!" she yelled. Keith cut his hand and drew a healing circle on him. "Needs more blood" he whispered. Already weak, Keith put his all into it.

Miraculously, the boy coughed out stomach bile and gasped. His acid burned skin slowly healed. Keith quietly went over to what was left of his enemy and looked at her blown off head. He stared at her eyes as he healed himself. Minutes passed, and Elena went over to check on him. "Look at her eyes. She's had the beginnings of cataracts. Her own magic was making her blind. Fanatism at its finest" he said. "So what happens now?" Elena asked. "We get them over the border. I swore as much" he said leaving the exploded remains of the girl to the vultures and coyotes.

12 miles. That's how close they were that night. And the sun rose revealing as they got closer, the desert became greener. Keith insisted he carry Mateó. He didn't shrink him to do it. No, he carried him in his arms. The boy still weak from being eaten and almost digested. A kind of penance to Keith. Carmella knew not what to make of him. He had cost the life of her husband. Wrecked their lives. Nearly cost the life of her son. However, Keith held him like he was his own. Whispered in his ear. Shed tears. It was clear he loved the boy. "He's a father isn’t he?" Carmella asked Elena. "Yes, he is. Keith is one of those people that carries the burden of the world. He gets attached to others easily and feels it more when they are lost. He's a borrower, it's his nature" Elena replied softly. Elena could hear what Keith was whispering to Mateó. He was begging forgiveness over and over.

It was close to noon when they arrived at the Rio Grande. The border between Mexico and the United States. "Good enough to stand now?" Keith asked him. Mateó nodded and Keith set him on his bare feet. Drawing an arcane on the shore, Keith waited for it to take effect. It got very cold before them and a bridge of ice formed connecting the sides. The frozen river water was the walkway for them. "Go" he said. Keith stayed back making sure the spell held up. Carmella went first timidly. She watched her flat covered feet step on the ice. It creaked under the weight but looking at Keith she knew it wouldn't give way. Halfway she stopped and took off her shoes. She tossed them to her daughter and stepped on the ice. It was chilly under her bare soles. Juanita slipped off her sandals and slipped on her mother's shoes. They were warm and sweaty but would protect her feet from the ice. Carmella was across and Juanita was not far behind. Mateó put on his sister's sandals and walked across. It was a sobering reminder of just one of the things they lost in that fight. The boy was stark naked except those shoes. Elena followed and Keith nearly fell to the dirt. "Keep going" he told her. Elena hurried over and yelled for him to cross.

Keith stumbled forward. His spell weakening as it was tied to his stamina. The ice broke apart just as he set foot on American soil. "Call...your contact" he said. Carmella did as they sat down on the bank. Fortunately, there was no traffic or border agents traveling down route 83. Carmella explained that their ride was staying in La Presa, a town not far from them. A 97' Ford Excursion pulled up 15 minutes later. "Hi Rafael. Children, let's go" she told them. Mateó and Juanita looked at Elena and Keith. "Carmella! Why is the boy naked? Where is Carlos?!" Rafael asked. "Carlos...didn't make it. Ask me no further questions" she said. "Carmella. That's not...who is the white guy? Did he do something to them?!" the man asked reaching for his gun. She stopped him. "He did nothing except fight for our lives" she replied. The man looked at Keith. He cocked his head when Keith fell over. "Your white friend just died" he said. Carmella looked back to see Keith laid out with Elena yelling for him. "We must help him" Carmella said. "...you will tell me everything" Rafael said. "You will only think of me as a mad woman but I will" she said.

Hours later...

Keith awoke feeling thirsty and warm. Not much light in the room he was in, but he could see something off. Giant hands were curled around him and a giantess Elena sleeping lay on the expansive bed he laid on. He had to push her fingers away as he looked for water. Elena groaned slightly and rubbed her eyes. Her eyes went wide in fright but calmed seeing that he was perfectly fine. "Sup" he said. "Don't sup me! You scared me shitless!" she yelled. "Yeah. I remember passing out at the river. Shit. What became of Carmella and the kids?" he asked. "Taken to Amarillo after dropping me off here. Had to shrink you down to sneak you in. Passed out white boy and all" she said. "Did Carmella say anything to her family in the truck?" he asked. "Said a bunch of bandits attacked her and her family near the border. You and I came to the rescue as we were photographing the desert nearby. Carlos was killed in the struggle and Mateó got blood all over him and passed out in shock" Elena replied.

"A convoluted lie but better than the truth I suppose. Anything to eat or drink around here?" he asked. Elena tore off a bit of a hoagie and poured some bottled water in a cap for him. "You sure you're alright?" she asked. "Much better now I got some real sleep. All that arcane and running around sucked me dry. How are you holding up?" he asked as he ate. "As well as can be expected" she replied. "I had you do a terrible thing" he muttered. "So we could live" she said. "Road to hell...best of intentions and all that" he said finishing his food. "It reminded me what I gave up. What I swore off" she said. "You have it going?" he asked. Elena sat right on the bed and placed her bare feet before him. "Lick my toes" she said. Keith twitched and walked over to her giant toes and began licking them. "Say I'm the most beautiful girl you ever seen" she commanded. "You're the most beautiful girl I ever seen" Keith said before sticking his head between her toes. She snapped her fingers. "Does that answer your question?" she asked. "Yeah...creepy" he muttered. "It'll fade in a few days. Probably less as Carlos was old and near death to begin with" she said unconsciously licking her lips. She caught herself.

He lowered her head and began crying very hard. He watched her for a moment before walking to her panties covered crotch. He slipped in and began licking her. Elena wasn’t angry at his boldness. She was grateful to feel something other than fear, guilt, or shame. She laid back on the bed with her hand cupped over Keith's form as he grinded him deeper into her. She let a pitiful cry as she came. Soaked in her juices, Keith used them to draw and arcane to shrink her down. She hadn't even noticed it until she saw him lay beside her. "I get it. Without you saying a word I get it. You feel terrible because you enjoyed it. It's like crack. Once you experience that euphoria, you want it again. I've eaten people before Elena. I understand that dark feeling. More than once I wanted to feel Aspen, Claire, her parents, my wife, or even my precious pseudo little brother wriggling down my throat and feel them writhe around in my stomach. And I hated myself so bad for it."

"During training, I learned to commune with my dark side. The side we all carry in ourselves. Did you want to know what I learned? The fact we agonize about that feeling tells us that it doesn't control us. To deny our desires no matter how dark is like lying to ourselves. Elena, you are a good girl. Don't let anyone tell you different. From the tips of your black hair to your suckable toes, you are special" he said as he stroked her cheek. Elena climbed on top of him. She tore her panties off and her dress. Keith had never seen her naked before. Her breasts were supple and firm. Firm enough he could see her heart racing. "Please...please..." she begged lining his cock at her entrance. Keith held her hips as she lowered herself down on him. The way she fucked him and whimpered reminded him of Lawan that night. Different species, separated by continents and oceans, reacting exactly the same. He understood that no matter the size nor species, he need to be close to a certain someone when pain was at its zenith, was universal. He remembered an old memory he hadn't thought of in years.

He was 8 years old and was painting a picture on a piece of wood chip for his mother. For paint he snuck out very close to the burrow to find berries. Choice mud for other colors and didn't tell a soul what he was doing. Her birthday was right around the corner and he had to finish in time. The night before she caught him sneaking out. She demanded to know what he was doing and wouldn't tell. He wanted her gift to be a surprise. She saw him hiding something behind his back and yanked it from him. "What...what is this?" she asked astounded by how pretty it was. "Your birthday gift. You weren’t supposed to see it yet" he replied. "And you been sneaking around outside the house at night to paint this?" she asked. The boy nodded. His mother cried very hard and hugged him. "Sorry I made you mad mom" he said. "That's not why I'm crying honey. Sometimes a kind heart can make people cry" she said. The next time he would experience that lesson was two years later when hunting for that strawberry.

"It's okay. It's okay" he muttered holding Elena. She kissed him snaking her tongue in his mouth and sighed as she came. Her cunt milked Keith for every drop of semen. She hugged his neck as she felt his warm load shoot deep into her. Keith let her lay on him until she drifted off to sleep. Putting on his clothes, he took his shrunken sword and pricked his finger. As she used a standard shrinking spell and not an Alux curse, it broke instantly, and he grew back to normal. Keith stood on the balcony and made a call. "Hey guys...in Texas right now. Complicated. Remember Elena? You know the Alux singer girl we met. Yeah her. I'm sending her your way for protection. Yeah. Well a Mogwai tried to kill her. Dead. Blown to fucking bits in the desert. No, it was something she ate that didn't agree with her. A father of a family died. Yeah...I can't but help feeling that Aspen. I hope so. What about you? Well you know I'd rub them for you. I miss you...I miss you so much...I have to go" he said ending the call. Keith cried his heart out on that balcony. Every man has a breaking point and Oberon could sense Keith reaching his. He felt a presence on his shoulder and saw the visage of Oberon sitting on it.

"I'm here for you Keith. I won't tell you not to cry. Just know you're never alone shouldering this pain. I love you kid" Oberon said to him. "Thanks, you old Fae" Keith chuckled. Keith stumbled back to bed. Busy on his phone booking flights, his free hand rubbed Elena's tiny feet. He loved her and felt guilt pulling her into this fight. He destroyed her happiness. Sure, she might turn the tide of battle, but at what cost to her? She has the taste of shrunken people flesh once more. She was damn near a fugitive of Justice now. Keith finished booking the flights and laid back down. His giant fingers caressed her naked small body. "Can I really be forgiven? Do I ever deserve it?" he muttered. "Forgiveness from others is easy. Forgiving yourself is the real test. I should know" Elena muttered. "Thought you were asleep" he said. "Your fingers touched my nipples" she said chuckling. "Well they are lovely" he chuckled. "Stay close to me tonight. Protect me..." she said. Keith got close to her and moved his arm around her body. "Goodnight" he whispered. "Buenos noches Keith" she said.

Elena finished putting her clothes on (hand me downs from Carmella before they departed) and looked at Keith. "You look better" she said. "I feel...lighter" he said to her. They held hands as they rode all the way to Austin. They stood in the main terminal. My flight is that way. Yours is Gate 31" he said. "Will you be coming soon?" she asked. "A week from today" he replied. "Where to next?" she asked. "Home. I miss my wife" he replied. Hearing him mention his wife soured her mood even worse. "In another life it might've been you" he said sensing her mood. "Which one? You speak fondly of other girls" she said. "The third one. Yeah definitely the third life I'd would lead" he replied. Elena smiled at his bad humor. "Keep me in your prayers" she said to him. "I would even without the hypnosis" he said to her. Keith watched her walk away and sat down on a nearby seat. He looked dead at a corner. He reached into his pocket pulling out a post it note. He sat it on a nearby seat and went to pull out two more. He placed all three on the seat. His gaze not once leaving that corner. He stood up and reached at what seemed like nothing except his grasp had something.

"Think I wouldn’t notice? You Mogwai smell the same. The stink of arrogance and cruelty. You're no doubt a scout sent to observe me since your assassin didn't report in. I'm right aren't I?" he asked the struggling girl in his fist. Standard Asian for a Mogwai and very young. No more than 15. Dressed in all black, her fright matched only by her false bravado. "First assignment for you isn't it? Your last assignment" he said coldly. She closed her eyes mumbling. "Don't bother. You see those notes I sat down? One for perception so nobody would notice us. The other to jam magic communications. And The last? Seals all magic within a 50 ft. radius. Now an experienced Mage could overcome it, but I figured since your shoddy illusion didn't mask your scent, you were an amateur" he said sitting down.

"I came to an epiphany last night. Cruel people understand one thing. Cruelty. It wasn't enough to leave that woman's blown up carcass in the desert. No, I must show how cruel I can be when you threaten those I care about or drag innocents into this. One second..." Keith said taking his phone out. He pressed record. Keith began to pull her clothes off. Her matted black suit came right off as did her tiny boots. His nails slipped off her black socks leaving her naked. Keith calmly placed her clothes on the seat. Keith showed her his pinky finger and placed it at her cunt. "No... no..." AAAAAAHHHGH!" she screamed out. If it wasn't for the spell. The entire terminal would've heard it. "That was for Carlos" he said. He twisted it as blood trickled down his finger. Keith yanked it out. The girl was sobbing incoherently. He placed his thumb on her chest and pushed. She let out a whine and then a screech as her ribs broke. "That was for Mateó who will have nightmares the rest of his life" he said. "No...more...I did nothing. Mercy...mercy..." she begged with all her soul. Keith stared at her tiny face for a moment. He placed his fingers on both sides of her head and twisted. Even he could barely hear it. The tiniest sound of her neck breaking. "There. Mercy. You won't feel a thing after I swallow you" he muttered. 

He twisted his hand back and forth. Her limp corpse flopping accordingly. He put the phone close to show her face. With no words, he placed her body in his mouth and loudly gulped her down his throat. "...you made me this way. I want you to know that. All bets are off..." he whispered before stopping the recording. Keith uploaded the video to a porn site knowing it wouldn't be taken down and placed his phone in his pocket. He walked to the bathroom to wash his hands. Minutes and minutes of scrubbing before Oberon told him to stop. Keith looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes were dull. He could feel a part of himself gone and he did not know if it was possible to get it back. He wanted so badly to go home just a hour before but now...now he dreaded it. Lawan was a sharp girl and he knew she would see that he had changed. He wondered if surviving this is what he truly wanted. His phone beeped. Notifications already about his video.      

Only 15 minutes had passed as he sat in a chair at his gate and already his video had over 1,000 views. A couple comments for it had set off the notification. Where did you find an Asian borrower? Did she taste good? Should've raped her with your dick. Next time swallow one alive. These were most of the comments and he just scrolled down past them but he stopped at one. "What would Lawan think?" it asked with the username of M-wai. Keith nearly broke his phone with his grip before he collected himself.  "Don't know. Please send more. The last one tasted great. I need more practice killing them" he said replying. "Now beginning boarding of flight 744 in service to Barcelona ending in Bangkok. First class and passengers with special needs first" the stewardess said. Keith turned his phone off and glanced at the black screen reflecting his face. Tears on his cheek and he wiped them away.  A part of him still felt guilt. It gave him some comfort.

He buckled in his seat and saw a tiny stewardess standing up on a tray doing inventory of sodas and pretzel bags. She seemed very happy with her work. She didn't have to steal food, worry about being eaten by someone or something, or stepped on. His work had changed her life and maybe his sacrifice would save the world. He looked at the Tarmac out the window as they finished loading luggage and saw his reflection once more. His eyes not so dull anymore. "She loves you you stupid borrower. She'll forgive you..." Keith muttered to himself before relaxing in his seat.