When Robert’s wife’s body is stolen, Robert must discover where and who she is and get her body back. But can he succeed when Exmuritious Forrester, the CEO and owner of Transmigration Studios, decides to stop him? Who can Robert trust, when anyone could be anyone?

Alienation
by Bryony Marsh

March 2023 story contest entry on the theme of abduction. After many years, an old friend arrives with a strange tale to tell. An engine that dies on a lonely stretch of road; a brilliant beam of light from above; being kidnapped and experimented upon by those of another species... with a transgender twist, of course!

Author's note: I am still working on my edits of The Return of Lilith. It has been taking me a lot longer than I planned it too. I hope that these edits will make the story better overall. I decided today that I was going to take a break from editing and knock out the prelude to the next adventure of Lilith and her family. This one will contain some violence against women and some graphic descriptions of rape and abuse. I wanted to warn you up front since this will be a common theme throughout the book. I hope you enjoy the new adventures.

Diego and Pablo were grateful to have finally made it to the hot springs. Too used to the warmer climate of their tropical home country, their bodies were ill-suited to the average temperatures of a place this far north. In fact, neither had felt properly warm all vacation long, not since they first got off the plane a week ago, only adding insult to injury after such a long flight. Not even cranking the heat in their shared hotel room seemed to fully eliminate the chill that had seemed to settle into their bones.

The city started to fill up with wizards, some non-wizards come with them as family members. We have to start organizing the city so that we can offer support to all those that we have here.

A group of earth wizards, who have specialized in agriculture, are creating an area where we can plant crops to help feed the city. Luckily using hydroponics made these farms much smaller and fit in only a few warehouses. Meat is something we will have to bring in from outside. We don't have room to keep livestock within the city limits.

The Other Side of Me – Part 28
by Lily Rasputin

As much as I might have preferred to sit on a bench and tongue wrestle with Mike all morning, both of us had classes and responsibilities that we couldn’t completely ignore. So, after another ten minutes of really wonderful public displays of affection, I peeled my face away from his and sighed.

“Guess we should take a break for now, huh?” He asked, sounding about as disappointed as I felt.

I nodded. “Probably. I have to meet with Shelly and talk about some stuff. But I could meet you for lunch if you wanted.”

The Other Side of Me – Part 27
by Lily Rasputin

I made it to school in record time, despite having to pause to accommodate the whims of a flock of stupid geese who decided that the side of the street they had been on was not to their satisfaction.

When I finally pulled into my parking spot on campus, I glanced at the time and calculated that a brisk walk should get me to class just before the lecture started. Which was great, since I doubted my quaking abdominals would allow me to move at any faster pace.

The Other Side of Me – Part 26
by Lily Rasputin

As the heavy haze of my intense, dream-filled slumber slowly parted, I found that Samantha was no longer curled up next to me.

Some part of my brain, probably still soaked with serotonin, hoped the sexy redhead would rejoin me soon. However, as I continued to lay there with my eyes closed, it occurred to me that the bed didn’t seem as soft as I remembered from the previous evening. In fact, it felt as if I were lying on something a bit stiffer and less comfortable.

Sara went off to class to try and make up for the days she missed. Elizabeth went to find David. I take Charlene to the garden where I plan to build our home. Charlene takes great delight in my garden, "I love your garden. It reminds me of our old home. You always make the most beautiful gardens."

"I am glad you like it because this is where I am going to build our home. That is why I want to build our home here in the garden." I replied.

"We are not going to live with Elizabeth anymore?" Charlene asked me.

Author's note: This chapter will not be Lilith-centric like the previous chapters. It will cover the aftermath of the events in chapter 16. It will be mostly US-based due to my knowledge being more about US culture and political climate. Just a heads up for any readers from outside the US who might be wondering why I don't include a more global view. I have chosen to use two news agencies that have made the most news for themselves and I think you will be able to guess them.

***

Aftermath

RNN (Rathford News Network):

Sara and I made our way out to the center of the school garden. I found a good place for us to sit and try and commune with the Goddess. "Are you sure you want me here while you do this?" Sara asked me extremely nervously.

"Sara, I don't want you alone with that crazed boy after you."
I say with the utmost seriousness and love. I am not going to let anything happen to her, so I will stay by her side till this whole incident is resolved.

Elizabeth, David, and I are sitting in their home library. David is pacing around the back of the library concentrating, and Elizabeth is sitting across from me in a recliner. "Mother, why did you have to scare me so bad? Do you know how hard it was on us when you left us the last time? It destroyed our family, and I just got you back."

"My darling Elizabeth, I am so sorry that I put you through that again, but I couldn't think of any other way to get out of the situation without exposing magic." I lean forward to grab her hand and comfort her.

As the year draws to a close, I would like to wish you all a happy and safe Festive Season. I thank all the wonderful writers on this site who have raised my spirits during the year. I hope that 2023 will be better for everyone. My writing had hit a block due to a book project and other things this year. I hope to get back writing in 2023. Before that, though, here is a little story which has a tenuous link to the Christmas story.

Marianne Gregory

Chapter 1

With the roar of flames from her hands and the dying howls of the werewolf, Flamer almost didn't hear Alexander scream. Looking away, she saw him fall through a portal that closed a split second later.

“What did you do?!” she shouted at Dwayne.

I lay in bed thinking about my life and the life I want now here in the modern age. I don't want to go back into hiding again. There is just so much that I need to know about the world and how I can live in it as I am. Neither Kyle nor I have any experience in living as a teenage girl. Now that Kyle can exert his own will on me is something we will have to work out.

Author's note:Sorry for the delay in posting. I had some family issues that I had to take care of that took me away from my writing. I hope you enjoy what I have to offer you

***

"What have you done?" Elizabeth asked me.

“So this is it?” Dela said, looking anywhere but the crack in the wall.

“Unless you want to start drinking your own pee, yeah,” Flamer replied. The cadet was tying the last loop in their makeshift rope, it would keep the crack in reality from vanishing and separating them when they went through.

The day has finally come, and it is off to school I go. I don't know how I feel about this. My mind is jumping between worry and anticipation. I am worried because I don't know what to expect when I get there. I am also anticipating that there I will cause trouble for James. I have been told that James has been bullied by many of the other students at school because his magic doesn't manifest in the same way that theirs does.

I went into a little of the back story of Lilith in this chapter. I will try to expound more on her history as the story unfolds. It is also a little longer than I usually write so I'm hoping that the story still flows smoothly. Thank you very much for your interest in this story.

***

"First, we go shopping," Shri'la exclaimed as I returned from the bathroom. "We need to get you some new clothes and common teenage things. "You'll need a cell phone, laptop, beauty products, and shoes. Ohh how I love to shop for shoes." I could tell she was excited.

In an effort to help her stepdaughter Airelle, and also to avoid bloodshed in Ulik's civil war, Necromantra proposes a daring plan to rescue the princess from the fortress city of Roch. But every move she might make toward her goal is froth with danger. Even if her plan succeeds, there is no way of telling what the fallout of it might be.