Angel, Karina, Ciera, Naeva, Bjorn, and dozens of others were waiting for them as they stepped out from under the phoenix and into the last rays of the day. A cheer rose from the large crowd of people he recognized and many more he didn’t. It felt good to know that so many people cared about him, but he still had that tickle in the back of his mind that made him worry if it was all a lie

Reece put on a brave face and went to reunite with his friends. Friends he hoped he would still have once he explained everything to them. He swallowed down the knot of fear that formed in his throat as he threw on a large smile when he caught sight of Karina. She was dressed in a simple red t-shirt and jean shorts. As soon as she spotted him, a beaming smile swept across her face and she ran to him. He grabbed her in a hug as she threw herself at him. Still smiling, she went to kiss him, and he pulled back. Her smile faltered.

“We need to talk,” he told her under his breath.

She gave him a hard look before almost imperceptibly nodding as she let him go. He quickly hugged Naeva, Ciera, and the rest of his comrades that he had been ripped away from for the last week or so. A dirty-blonde man in a dark blue flight suit approached Reece and offered him his hand. It wasn’t someone who Reece recognized.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” said the man, “I’m Micah. We spoke a few times when you were still aboard the Zhengzhou.”

“Ahh, right back at you,” replied Reece, smiling as he remembered their talks from what seemed like a lifetime ago.

Reece took in the sight of the man. Micah sported a scruffy blonde beard, which contrasted with his professional-looking flight suit. He had dark brown eyes and may have been handsome, but his features held a haunted look, probably from the horrors of the last few years, figured Reece.

Karina led Naeva and Ciera away, glancing at Reece as they left together. He nodded at her and she smiled back, but he detected hurt in her eyes before she turned away. He decided to worry about that later and make small talk with Micah to put him at ease.

“I didn’t think you were a pilot,” said Reece, wondering at the suit.

“Oh, I’m not. This is just the most comfortable thing they had aboard,” chuckled Micah. “Come on, let’s go below deck and grab something to eat. It’s getting dark out here.”

Reece looked around and it was true. The sun had long set, and people began funneling below decks. Karina, Naeva, and Ciera hung back. Reece glanced their way and saw troubled looks on all their faces. Karina must have filled them in on his comment. He knew he had to talk to them soon. It wasn’t fair to them to keep them suffering anxiously over the unknown.

Reece continued making small talk with Micah as the man led him to the galley and got into a long line for food. They each grabbed a tan tray and were given a plate of mashed potatoes and gravy, Salisbury steak, green beans, and a tin cup of water. Once they had been served, he turned to Micah.

“I don’t want to be rude, Micah, but I really need to talk to a couple of my companions. They thought I was dead,” Reece explained, needing to speak with the girls as soon as possible.

“Oh, how discourteous of me. Of course, feel free,” apologized Micah, “Just come find me later. I’ll introduce you to the captain and we can trade intel.”

‘Thanks, bud. I’ll see you soon,” said Reece, patting the man on the shoulder before he turned and headed off to locate Karina.

He saw the three ladies just leave the line and head further into the ship, rather than sit down at one of the metal tables in the galley’s eating area. Karina looked back as Reece caught sight of them. She indicated he should follow them by nodding her head in a ‘come here’ motion. He took the hint and stood up, collecting his tray. Before they could lose him, he hurried after.

Once he fell in behind the girls, Reece let them lead him to a small room. It looked like it was set up as a junior officer’s quarters, complete with a cot, chair, writing desk, dresser, closet, and wardrobe. Ciera and Naeva sat on the bed while Karina fell back into the chair and looked at him pointedly.

“So, what’s going on?” she asked with an edge to her voice.

Reece blew out a deep breath and leaned his back against the closet door, sliding down it to sit on the floor. He didn’t want to beat around the bush, so he decided to just come out with it.

“You’ve all figured out that there is something strange about me and the way I affect people, right?” began Reece.

The three women all nodded slowly, wondering where this was going.

“Well, I encountered...uh, someone who actually knew what I am and even knew a little about what I can do...what my...I guess...what my abilities are,” explained Reece, still coming to grips with this new reality himself. “And that’s the problem. You three and me...we’ve become friends, companions, and much more since we’ve known each other.”

Reece paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.

“Here’s the thing,” he started. “I can influence people for good or ill and have no real idea on how to control it yet. There’s a very real possibility that none of your feelings for me are real.” He waited a moment to let that sink in. The looks he was given ranged from thoughtful to skeptical. He continued his confession, for that’s what it felt like.

“It may simply be that I couldn’t help but use my ability to convince all of you that I’m a good guy and a leader, worthy of respect, adoration, and much more.”

Reece swallowed hard before continuing.

“But it all may be a lie. Being able to influence people, well... that’s the rub. I have no way of knowing if any of your feelings towards me are real or being controlled. I do feel awful about it. To be frank, it makes me sick. So, however you think you feel about me, there’s a good chance it’s not real... at least a good portion of it. If this is the case, all I can do is offer you my sincerest apologies. If you want nothing more to do with me, I understand and will respect your wishes. Please, take all the time you need to process this.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions here,” responded Karina, clearly startled by the revelation. “Is that the real reason you’ve been acting strangely since you got back? We need to take a pause and analyze this.”

Naeva and Ciera kept their own counsel, which was probably for the best. Reece thought that the looks on their faces showed a mix of shock and worry.

“Yeah, pretty much. That’s the reason. Look, I’ll figure this out or die trying. You have my word,” promised Reece. “I know I owe each of you my life and will support you however I am able. I need to find answers. I think it would be best if I left you all to yourselves for now. If you have questions, come and find me. I’ll try to answer them as best as I can. Please understand though, this is all new to me as well.”

Reece got up and walked towards the doorway.

“Wait just a god’s cursed second,” Karina called out as she held a hand up towards him. “I need to know what happened to suddenly give you this new ‘clarity’.”

When he didn’t stop, the lilitu girl angrily hopped from the chair and sprinted straight to him. Spinning him around and pulling him down, she bit his neck and drank deeply for a long moment before releasing him and taking a step back.

She looked up at his face and stared deeply into his eyes, blinking a couple of times as she processed the new memories that she had just gleaned from him. As she looked at Reece, she instead spoke to Naeva and Ciera.

“Don’t worry, he’s just being an idiot,” Karina explained before turning back on him. “You had the three of us all worried that you had found someone else or some other crazy things like you were dying or something. And it turned out, it was all because of some guilt over your charming personality? That’s just infuriating.”

Reece looked at the three women who all looked noticeably relieved and cocked his head in bewilderment.

“How do you mean? I thought this would upset you. It upsets me! If I’m controlling how you feel, I consider it tantamount to mental slavery. I cannot abide that, especially if I’m doing it to people I care about,” Reece desperately explained, trying to get them to understand. He looked to Ciera and Naeva. “Does this not bother you? Is this how you all feel?”

The two women simply nodded as they gave him a look that said, “Yep, you’re being an idiot.” His attention was brought back down to the girl in front of him.

“Oh, we understand all right,” replied Karina hotly. “You worried us for nothing. Reece...lover, you know I’m a three-thousand-year-old lilitu, right? Do you honestly think I could be fooled by a simple charm effect, even as powerful as yours may turn out to be? And please, give me some credit; the only times you’ve affected me is when you let me suck your blood and one other time.”

“When was that?” asked Reece.

“When I was twenty meters down the gullet of that giant worm creature we fought just as you were taken from us,” she answered. “I was struggling to get free, but my strength was waning, and I was sure I was a goner. Then, out of nowhere, a wave of energy flowed through my body.”

“It penetrated my being and I saw your eyes in my mind for just a second,” she continued. “I felt almost invincible. I was stronger and faster than ever before, and my spear felt as light as a broomstick as I easily cleaved the beast in two. As the worm’s upper half crashed down, I rejoined everyone else and it was then that I noticed that every single one of us was juiced up by something.”

“Your ability bolstered our power ten-fold and the zombies fell in droves before our combined might. We held them back long enough for the cavalry to arrive, and the rest is history,” she finished, crossing her arms in front of her as if to accentuate her point. “So, you see...you’ve never used your ability to influence me into falling for you, and Ciera is completely immune since she is so like you.”

“And I’ve been around a while too, Reece,” added Naeva. “There’s no way you could have influenced me for this long and have me not know it. My lineage makes me sensitive to that sort of thing. Besides, I knew you before you had your powers and I already liked you then. Reece... your powers don’t work on us. We like you for who you are and what you represent to each of us.”

Reece couldn’t believe it. They were telling him that he hadn’t betrayed those closest to him after all. Their argument seemed sound, but his guilt somehow stubbornly held on.

“I hear you, and I want to believe you,” replied Reece, his emotions a mess. “Could you just give me a little space so that I can figure this out?”

“No,” growled Karina as she stomped her foot and looked back at Ciera and Naeva.

Naeva stood up and shook her head in the negative. “No way.”

Ciera looked up at Naeva, and catching on, stood up too.

“Nope,” she stated with conviction. “Your request is soundly rejected.”

“So, I guess you don’t have that much influence over us after all, huh?” asked Karina smugly as she held out her hands. “What more proof do you need?”

As if in answer to Karina’s question, Ciera walked over to Reece and stood uncomfortably close to him.

“Give me a kiss, now,” she commanded.

Reece stared back at her in confusion.

“Why?”

“To prove a point,” she half-explained.

“What point?” he persisted.

“That we can’t influence each other,” she explained. “I just told you to do something. I was very direct, and it wasn’t an unreasonable demand. However, you still didn’t submit. And you didn’t even feel an urge, force, or power, did you? Now, let’s try this again.”

Ciera’s gorgeous eyes bore into his being as they shimmered slightly.

“Kiss me,” she commanded.

This time it was different. Reece felt a power wash over and through him, enhancing his desire to kiss her supple lips. He considered refusing but decided to give in and kiss her long and deeply. When they finished, she licked her lips and smiled wickedly at him.

“Now, for the coup de grace,” she purred mischievously. “Kneel and kiss my boot.”

Reece felt the power surge from her again, but he didn’t have any desire to kneel or kiss her boots.

“Nah, I’m good,” he replied.

“Do you see now? We need to concentrate to use our power to influence each other. Even then, it only enhances the desires we already have. Now, we do both have a natural charisma, but it’s not supernatural or anything,” explained Ciera as she took Reece’s hands in her own and smiled sweetly at him.

“I almost hate to say it, but unlike me, you’re a natural leader and you have empathy which people recognize in you. That’s why people respect and follow you. When I first met you, and even after that, when we fought...I knew you were someone that cared more about others than yourself. You were brave, honest to a fault – I think this whole fiasco illustrates that, and your loyalty to your friends and those you care about.”

Naeva looked at Ciera funny. “Oh, girl! I didn’t know you had it in you. Well said.”

Getting to see the other side of his ability, Reece realized it wasn’t as powerful as he had believed. Sweet Ciera had put it all in perspective. She was much more intuitive than she usually let on. He contemplated what they had told him for a few moments before looking down and taking a deep breath. He blew out a long sigh of relief and when he looked up again, the world seemed just a bit more vibrant.

“Huh, I guess I’ve been pretty stupid,” chuckled Reece as he looked at all the girls. “Thanks for setting me straight.”

“Ahh, you are too adorable,” squealed Ciera. “You beat yourself up because you thought you had somehow betrayed our trust. That just makes me love you even more...or, you know...something like that.”

Ciera’s cheeks grew flushed as she realized she had just used the L-word in front of him. Reece blushed too but coughed and looked away for a second as he came to terms with his feelings and responded to them all.

“Ahh, I love you too, all of you,” replied Reece with a little half-smile before getting serious for a moment.

“Honestly, when I thought this might all be a lie and was my fault, it almost broke me. Thank you all for helping me come to my senses. I have to admit, I feel like an idiot. But that’s okay, as long as I still have all of you as my faithful companions,” continued Reece, a shit-eating grin spread across his face. “Feel free to kick my ass if I start talking stupid again.”

By the time he finished his short reply, there wasn’t a dry eye in the small room. Karina got up and sat down with her back to him, allowing Reece to hold her small frame against him. Naeva and Ciera leaned against him from either side and they sat there for a long while in silence, just holding each other.

“I need to pee,” blurted Ciera abruptly.

Everyone laughed, breaking the spell.