The sun’s rays filtered through the dust-covered windows of the vacant home as we all sat in a circle and listened with our undivided attention while Ravyn—that is to say, my double—spoke. For every boon this [Impersonate Soul] spell had, there was a crippling vice to go along with it. Even so, it seemed that this was just the type of spell we needed to get our man out of that mansion.

“So, let me make sure I understand this,” I said with a raised hand. “We need to be touching the person when we first cast the spell. Afterward, we’ll take the form of that person, and an insignia will appear in the palm of our hand.”

Ravyn nodded.

“Okay. Then we put that insignia somewhere on our new body, and it acts as our timer. Er, hourglass. Clock. Whatever.” Sundial? Have I seen a clock since I got here?

“Yes. Good boy,” Ravyn cooed in my voice.

I shivered, and not in a good way. God, it’s creepy seeing her mannerisms reflected in my body.

“But it only works on the body,” Keke said next. “So if we don’t have the right clothes, then we’ll look ridiculous.”

“Like how Ravyn looks right now.” I was hoping she’d stop sitting with one of her legs popped out in front of her. I’m never going to unsee what I look like wearing panties, am I?

“I’ll have you know there’s a handful of girls out there who wouldn’t mind seeing a man dressed like this,” Ravyn said as she shifted her gaze between Keke and Cannoli. “Many would be too shy to admit it, though.”

Keke blushed. “Let’s put your antics aside for a bit and finish discussing the spell, please.”

“That’s exactly what we’re doing, darling,” Ravyn said with a giggle. “You have the right of it, though. Which is why we’ll need to procure ourselves some clothes.”

“Does it copy their abilities or Skills?” I wondered if somehow this would be useful in creating several copies of someone like Cailu for wars against the Defiled. Even if just one Cailu was more than enough for Nyarlea.

Ravyn shifted one leg over the other, and I looked away. “No. Only the appearance and physical functions of that body type. Your Stats remain exactly as they are, as do your Skills and other features unique to you. It’s exceptionally limited,” Ravyn sighed.

“Physical functions?” Cannoli asked with a raised brow. Buttons ran a few circles around Cannoli’s collarbone and shifted his weight side to side, bobbing his head as if listening to a tune. “What do you mean by that?”

Ravyn looked at me. “Meaning, all the physical functions that one would expect from another catgirl or a man. It’s a fun spell for the bedroom.”

The hue of red on Keke and Cannoli’s features was deeper and darker than I’d ever seen before. Cannoli fidgeted with her fingers and bowed her head forward. Keke rolled her shoulder and looked away to a floorboard sticking out of the ground.

I covered my face with one hand as I spoke. “Okay. Putting that particular mental image aside for a moment, how bad are the side effects you mentioned?”

Ravyn’s smile turned upside down. “Bad. Very bad. Chaining this Spell or using it for too long can cause considerable damage to the mind. Then, if you find yourself getting a little too comfortable in the body, you can expect major headaches, loss of balance, amnesia, dysphoria, and all kinds of shitty sensations.” Ravyn leaned back, granting me a generous view of my own body from the waist down.

I put my hand out so that I could block Ravyn’s show from my vision. “Way to put my whole body on display. Making me extremely self-conscious here.” I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks, and frankly, the clone of me in Ravyn’s getup with Keke and Cannoli in the room was enough to make me wanna jump into the ocean and fight a dozen Defiled.

Ravyn’s cheeks flushed. Oh, holy shit, I look like a damn creep. Stop that.

“Sorry.” Ravyn crossed her legs and sat up. Save for the clothes, she looked very natural now and very much how I pictured myself whenever I sat the same way. “It’s because of the dangers of this Spell that I made sure to get the ones that last an hour. Any more than that, and the effects could be irreparable.”

“Should we really do this then?” Cannoli said, putting a hand on Ravyn’s shoulder. “I mean, if it can be that bad, maybe we should come up with a different plan.” Cannoli’s voice gradually plummeted in octaves and volume. “I-I know we’re frustrated, but maybe…”

“No.” Ravyn guided Cannoli’s hand away before resting her arms over her knees. “There’s only one person at significant risk here, and it’s Matt.”

“What? Why me?”

“The effects are quadrupled for those who switch to the opposite sex. There isn’t a man in Nyarlea who can get through there without alerting the entire fucking Venician maid squad to come barreling down the halls and throw you out of the building.” Ravyn’s fingers squirmed and balled repeatedly. “So you’ll need to go in as one of them. Depending on how long it takes, the effects could really start to mess with you.”

“Then let me go!” Keke said, rising to her feet. “We can’t push Matt to do that if it’s truly that risky. I don’t want him to get hurt.”

“We don’t have a choice at this point,” said the shrugging Ravyn. “You and Cannoli are still Enchanted, and we can’t dispel it without alerting the maids. No. It has to be Matt and me.”

“You can’t be serious!” Keke said, aghast.

“I’ll do it.” Call it a fool’s errand, but I couldn’t watch Cannoli and Keke worry without any of my input. No matter how I reasoned with it, Ravyn was right. There wasn’t any real practical way to get Keke and Cannoli in there without the risk of blowing the whole plan apart. Their intentions were great, but there just wasn’t anything they could do in this situation. “Ravyn’s right. Think about it. She and I have seen the inside. The real inside. We know where the rooms are; she has a layout that I can understand.” I looked up at Keke, then over to Cannoli. “It just makes the most sense. I’ll take care of it.”

Ravyn cleared her throat. “Trust me when I say I don’t want to put you in any danger. First chance I have to get the other man displaced, I’ll take it. Then we book it.”

“But, I—” Keke started.

“Mou ii,” Ravyn said with a hand to her forehead, “just let it go. We have no other choice.”

Keke balled her hands. “Fine.”

A few seconds of silence surrounded us until I broke it. “What do I need to be concerned about?”

Ravyn’s brow lifted. “First of all, the Enchantment is very strong. Most [Dispel Magic] scrolls won’t work to take it off before our time is up. This means you’ll need to be quick. The sooner we get you out, the better. That way, we can leave you to yourself for a while.”

I frowned. “Why would you do that? Wouldn’t it be better if you girls stayed with me?”

“Not… particularly.”

“I don’t like that tone,” Keke hissed.

Ravyn coughed. “You’re going to have a fucking avalanche of thoughts and feelings swarming through your body. If you were turning into Cailu, you wouldn’t have as much of a problem. Mostly muscle and height differences to get used to. But on top of that, you now have to deal with every sensation a woman handles without thinking–” Ravyn took a deep breath, her nails digging into her palms. The gap between her words was widening, and her eyes narrowed.

This is really fucking with her.

“–That’s In addition to your own shit,” Ravyn finished. A clammy sweat was collecting around her forehead, and she looked pale as a sheet.

“An hour. That’s how long it lasts. That’s what you said.” Keke’s tone came off accusatory.

As Keke folded her arms, Ravyn eyed her up and down. I knew what that look was, and I can say she was absolutely awful at hiding it. Any guy could tell you what was going on in a dude’s head when they saw someone look at a girl like that.

The emotions are quadrupled?

“You said quadrupled,” I said in the hope of stealing Ravyn’s attention away from Keke. “So, four times more of what, exactly? General effects? Or effects of how that person feels and acts? Be specific.”

Maybe if I can distract her thought processes, it’ll help ease her down from the spell.

“Ah, uh, it’s… sorry.” Ravyn breathed through her nose and out through her mouth. “Both. There are general effects, but they’re more about what the person usually feels in those situations. That’s what can mess with the mind to such a severe degree.”

“And why aren’t we dispelling it off of you?” I asked. “I thought we still had five scrolls?”

“N-No, I…” Ravyn coughed and ran a hand through her hair.

“Ravyn, are you okay?” Cannoli put both of her hands on Ravyn’s shoulders and nuzzled up against her.

I don’t think you quite realize how much harder you’re making this on her.

“Esmerelda, hah, didn’t, um, have any scrolls of that strength,” Ravyn struggled to say.

Keke’s eyes widened, and she quickly turned around to take a few paces away from our circle.

“Wait, don’t go,” Ravyn pleaded.

“Hey, listen to me, stop looking at her,” I said, snapping my fingers in front of Ravyn. “How much longer do you have left?”

“F-five minutes.”

“Why did you use me as a demonstration and not one of the girls? That was stupid.” I beckoned Cannoli over, and although she tilted her head in confusion, she took a seat beside me. I leaned over and whispered to her. “Don’t go near Ravyn right now. The best thing we can do is leave her alone.”

“Sorry, the spell is hitting me much harder than I thought it would,” Ravyn said with a shake of her head. “I’m sorry.”

I cleared my throat. “It’s okay. Just please don’t do that again. Talk to us first.”

“It was just meant to be a joke,” Ravyn continued, “I didn’t mean to creep Keke out or cause you any more problems.”

“You didn’t,” I reassured her, “why don’t you see what Ball Gag is doing over there in the corner? He should keep you distracted.”

“Shit. Alright. Okay.”

Ravyn got on all fours and made her way over to the corner in a strange sort of silent act of self-deprecation.

“What just happened?” Cannoli asked, her deep red eyes lit with concern.

“It’s just a very strong spell. Ravyn just needs some time to herself, I think.”

Holy shit. That is not a spell to take lightly. How the hell am I going to manage through that?